Us Against the Music
by generalquistis
Summary: They needed to do something about their new lives, so Cloud, Sephiroth, Vincent, Rufus and Reno decided to have a bleedin' band! Oh yeaaah! But is fame the only thing that matters? Please read and review. ;;
1. Cloud

Us Against The Music

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I am not working for Squaresoft (or SquareEnix) and I don't know if I'll have the intention to work there after I graduate… but anyway, it means that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. 

Author's note: This is a fic. I can do anything I want with it. If I want Aerith to be here, she'd be here. And stuff like that. So don't go criticizing me badly. Constructive criticisms are welcome.

_All the fame and fortune; the lights and the glitter; money and the power; temporary highs and pleasures… are those the only things that matter in life?_

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Cloud

            A pair of blue eyes stared into the space in front of them. The space consisted of nothing but the night sky and stars… plus the roofs of all the houses surround the house where he is seated on its roof. He sighed heavily before realizing that it had been two years ever since he moved into that house. He had nowhere else to go that was why he just decided to just stay with them: his old friends.

Since Midgar had been destroyed, they just settled in Kalm. Life was considered _better there… at least it was peaceful and the best part of it all, no ShinRa._

And no excitement, at least, according to Cloud's point-of-view.

He was in one medium-sized house with four quarters on the second floor, one common bathroom, one small kitchen with a dining area and one cozy living room with a little fireplace for those nasty winters.

They all pitched in for the money to get the house built: Himself, Barret, Vincent and Tifa.

Since they could not exactly send Marlene to school because of lack of funds, Vincent just took his time to tutor the little girl. Tifa would be the one to manage the household: cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry. Barret worked during the day; taking odd jobs from a little company just near Kalm.

While Cloud just bummed around, doing nothing but sit on top of the roof. These would be his daily activities: Wake up, eat breakfast, sit somewhere and stare into empty space, eat lunch, sit somewhere and stare into empty space, eat dinner, sit somewhere and stare into empty space… and then sleep.

There were a few changes in his life, however: Tifa stopped _bugging_ him (if you know what we mean by _bugging _Cloud), he got Red XIII and just decided to make the big red animal his pet, he became more withdrawn from everyone, he isolates himself more than he had done before… and he is already more silent than Vincent.

It sickened Tifa to worry constantly about her friend's health and state of mind. "You should at least do something to keep yourself busy." She told him one time.

He would just tell her, "I'm not interested."

And one time when Marlene and Tifa went out to pick some flowers and then came back with two baskets full of those, the little girl handed one of the baskets to Cloud… and the blonde guy just burst into tears, making everyone else feel creepy.

Cloud had reminisced on that as he sat on the roof. He frowned and bit his lower lip, feeling so embarrassed. "I should never cry in front of them again…" he thought silently before leaning back against the chimney.

He thought that life was so unfair to him. He had been lonely as a child, belonging to a "loser" crowd… and he grew up somewhat alone too… 

His moment of loneliness ended temporarily when he thought he had met the girl of his dreams… and then someone had to bust in and get rid of her.

"Bullshit," he muttered under his breath.

_Yeah, let's go meet her there_.

"Bullshit," he clenched his fists and pounded against the roof.

            Tifa looked up at the ceiling upon hearing the sound of someone who just pounded against the room. She could tell that Cloud was in one of his many bad moods again. She just sighed heavily before proceeding to read the newspaper. Ever since they moved into the house, Cloud had been like that. She could not even talk to him properly because even she herself would get annoyed at him. At times, she would talk to the stars as if speaking to an old friend, "Why did you have to die and leave him here? You know I can't take care of him the way you did? I wish you're still here so that he could be happy… just like before when you were still around."

Marlene was already asleep on the bed beside her, but she was still awake and reading. It was late. 

Tifa even wondered why Barret bothered to buy a newspaper that no one else would be bothering to read. He would just throw it aside in the dining table like he just bought it for display; so that makes Tifa just get the newspaper and bring it upstairs in her room and read it so that it would be useful even for a little. 

She can even use it to squash bugs… especially cockroaches. She is afraid of them, but since she knows that screaming "HELP! There's a cockroach here, please kill it!!!" at the boys wouldn't do her any good. Cloud will just ignore her; Vincent will just stare at it and tell her, "You're bigger than that. You can kill it yourself." While Barret would just tease her about her fear of cockroaches and would even kill it in front of her and throw at her the carcass afterwards.

She snorted before turning the page. She started from the back page because the fashion articles are there and that was the only thing she is interested in with the newspaper… plus a little on sports and the comics and some of the horoscopes (for fun) and the showbiz news.

She finally reached the front page and what she saw made her gasp. "What the…" she said out loud, eventually waking up the little girl sleeping beside her.

"H…huh? What's the matter, Tifa?" Marlene asked sleepily.

Tifa's eyes were wide in shock. "No, this cannot be!" she instantly got up and rushed over to Barret's room. "Barret!"

The big guy sat up from his bed in surprise when she barged in. He still had this sleepy look on his face. "Wh…what?" he asked, trying to sound alert.

She switched on the light and handed him the newspaper. "Didn't you see the front page when you bought this today?" she demanded.

Barret's vision slowly adjusted onto the red headlines. His eyes widened in shock. "Holy shit! What the…?!"

            "Wonder why they're panicking…" Cloud thought silently upon hearing the voices of Vincent, Tifa and Barret… especially Barret's voice because it sounded so frantic. 

"These darn foo's bettah not cause more trouble than what they've done before! How the hell are they going to rebuild their empire?!"

"Oh, Barret, I'm worried… what if history would repeat itself?" Tifa asked.

"Let's not jump into conclusions. After all, we're in Kalm. They might do their _harm, if ever, just in Midgar, the city where they started." Vincent reasoned out._

"Foo'! They basically _own_ the Planet itself! They're rich enough to buy it!" Barret snapped.

"But they haven't done it, right?" Vincent asked.

"How come you sound like you're defending them or something?!" Barret argued.

"I'm not defending them; I am just trying to be level-headed because panicking won't do me any good. I could tell that everyone is also panicking, not only you or Tifa." Vincent replied.

Cloud frowned. "What are they talking about?" he thought silently before he decided to descend from the roof. He entered through Barret's window. 

All eyes turned to him. "Oh, Cloud, there you are!" Tifa said with a look of relief on her tired face.

He just frowned at her before he sat down on the windowpane. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Bad news. ShinRa's back." Barret announced.

Silence filled the whole room.

"How?" Cloud asked with a blank look on his face.

"They have their President back." Barret replied.

"Rufus ShinRa? I thought he's dead?" Cloud asked.

"It's strange, I know. But…" Barret trailed off when Cloud got up and grabbed the newspaper from his grasp and read the news on his own.

He just shrugged. "I don't see any harm in Rufus. He can get the Promised Land and do whatever he pleases. I don't care anymore," he told them casually before handing the newspaper to Barret once again.

"What?! What are you saying?" Tifa demanded.

"Because of what Sephiroth did, the Lifestream somewhat became connected to this Planet… I don't know how to explain this because you guys are stupid," Cloud insulted.

They all fell silent.

"Ouch," Barret said airily.

"How could you say that?!" Tifa snapped at him.

"Because it's true!" Cloud snapped back at her.

She clenched her fists and slapped his face hard that he almost hit the wall.

"Tifa, stop it," Vincent grabbed her and pulled her away from Cloud.

She sneered at Cloud. "You're just saying that because you weren't able to bring _her_ back! You're blaming yourself for everything, aren't you?!" she screamed angrily at him.

He realized that she hit him so hard that his lower lip was bleeding and his face felt so numb.

"And I thought you were such a strong person, Cloud," Tifa muttered before she walked out of the room.

            "She hates me. Everyone hates me… even Barret and Vincent…" Cloud muttered miserably as he sat on his bed.

Red XIII just stared at him. "Tifa doesn't hate you. She just did that to make you think." He said.

"Are you saying that I'm stupid?" Cloud demanded.

"Yes," Red XIII replied frankly.

Cloud did not expect that kind of answer from him; he thought that he would deny it and sound defensive. He didn't really know how to answer back to Red XIII because of that statement. He just turned away.

"Ever since we all arrived here in Kalm, you've been like that. Everyone's getting worried about you. You should at least try to make yourself useful even for a little. Amuse yourself," Red XIII advised.

Cloud did not say anything.

Red XIII sighed. "You can't change the past, Cloud. You have to move on. Look at the others; they're all moving on… and you're being left behind." He advised.

Cloud turned to him with a blank stare.

Red smiled encouragingly, "Find some work or something. Any diversion. You can help Tifa with the household chores… or help tutor Marlene." He suggested.

Cloud just shook his head and decided to lie down and go to sleep.

Red just sighed and turned away, plopping down on the floor and slowly drifted off to sleep.

            The next day, when Marlene went to Cloud's room to make him come down for breakfast, they all realized that he was already gone. He just left a note, saying, "I'm sorry for causing you guys trouble. I took Red XIII with me. I'm going to make myself useful. Don't worry about me."

*** 


	2. Rufus and Sephiroth

Rufus and Sephiroth 

*** 

            "What do you want to do with your life?" Sephiroth asked as he watched the sleeping young lady on the bed. His green eyes looked so solemn.

Rufus also stared blankly at the young lady, his arms crossed. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know… besides guarding her," Sephiroth told him.

His blue eyes wandered off to a distant gaze outside the window of the dimly-lit room. He just closed the curtains of the canopy bed where the young lady is sleeping quietly. "I have work to do." He told him. "And you?" he continued.

Sephiroth moved his wheelchair away from the bed and rolled it to the window. "I don't know. I don't even see the point of me being here." He told him before turning his gaze to Rufus who was still seated on the couch by the bed.

Rufus frowned at him. "Don't look at me, it wasn't my fault. She insisted that you also come with us back here." He told him.

Sephiroth slowly reached for his own face, touching it gently. "Is this even for real?" he asked.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course, it's for real." Rufus snapped at him coldly while staring at Sephiroth and the current state that he is in. "Although you have to sit on that thing for a few more days." He pointed out.

"How long?" Sephiroth asked glumly.

"Only you can tell. You're still weak, as far as I'm concerned. The doctors even say so." Rufus said.

"That's so unfair! How come you get to stand up and walk around freely while I get to sit on this thing and she remains asleep and weak like Sleeping Beauty or something?" Sephiroth asked.

"She wasn't supposed to waste all her energy on us. She will wake up one day. Besides, we owe her a lot of things while we were in the Lifestream," Rufus told her.

"Well at least your _empire_ is back." Sephiroth told him.

Rufus just looked down. "It wasn't my idea," he told him solemnly.

Sephiroth turned to him with a curious gaze. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Isn't this what you wanted? Take a look outside, Midgar is all fixed! You basically own the whole city and it looks perfectly good comparing it to its condition in the past." He pointed out.

"My executives wanted to rebuild it. I just let them. I need the power back… but I don't want to control anymore." Rufus pointed out with an annoyed look on his face.

Sephiroth laughed at him, but Rufus hushed him so that he wouldn't disturb the sleeping girl.

Sephiroth made a face and shrugged. "I don't know about you, ShinRa, but me? I'm just going to apply back in SOLDIER and regain my title as First Class SOLDIER just like before, and hopefully no Hojo would show up and tell me that I am blah and blah blah blah. You know the rest." He said before directing his wheelchair to the door. 

Rufus got up and helped him. He opened the door and pushed the wheelchair outside. He just decided to roll Sephiroth back to his room. "Who's gonna take care of her while you're in your office?" Sephiroth asked before they boarded the elevator.

"I can ask Elena to do it. Besides, I made them swear never to reveal to anyone else about her until she is well enough." Rufus told him.

"Then what?" Sephiroth asked.

"Maybe we can bring her to _where her heart is, at least that's how she refers to it…" Rufus mentioned with a sly look on his face._

"Right…" Sephiroth muttered sleepily.

            Rufus stayed alone in his office at the 70th floor for the rest of the afternoon, just calculating the budget and the money supply. Sometimes, he just wanted to throw everything away and just stay someplace else.

He could remember that as a child, he wanted to play the piano and sing… so his mother gave him lessons. But his Old Man had to ruin everything.

He smiled slightly. "Yeah, that's what I've been wanting to do…" he thought silently before he reached for the phone and called Heidegger.

            "Gyah… I don't understand why President Rufus ordered that we make a music room out of one of the vacant rooms on the 69th floor…" Heidegger muttered miserably he began to check the list of instruments and all the furniture needed inside the room.

"Kyahahahaha! If President Rufus loves music, why didn't he tell us before in the first place? I could sing a note or two to him! Kyahahahaha!" Scarlet said proudly.

"I wouldn't sing if I were you; I might break the glass windows," Reeve muttered under his breath.

"Kyah?! What did you say?!" Scarlet snapped at him.

Reeve ignored her and just proceeded to make a call to the music store in Sector 2. "Yes, I would like to order one grand piano… the most expensive yet elegant. Color white. And a flute, then a drum set, guitars…" he began to cite the instruments needed.

"Don't forget the harmonica," Heidegger reminded him.

"And the organ." Scarlet pointed out.

Reeve continued to talk, and after a few minutes, he stopped and said, "Charge everything to President Rufus ShinRa. He will send you the payment upon delivery."

"Man, he's gonna spend a lot for those instruments." Reno muttered to Rude as they began to move in some couches.

"I hope it doesn't affect his budget for our salaries," Rude pointed out.

"So, the two of you, where's Elena?" Heidegger called out.

"Oh, she's in that girl's quarters." Reno said.

"Kyah. That girl. Who is she anyway? How come President Rufus wouldn't reveal her name to us?" Scarlet asked in annoyance.

"Maybe she's a girlfriend." Reeve said.

"Or maybe she's Sephiroth's girlfriend," Heidegger said.

"Nah. They're the only ones who know who she really is… but they said that she's the reason why they're back here." Reeve told them.

"Kyahahahah! Good for her that she's not a girlfriend! And speaking of Sephiroth, I do hope that that asshole doesn't cause any more trouble here!" Scarlet snapped.

"Let's just see…" Heidegger muttered.

            Sephiroth and Rufus were having dinner together at around 7:00 pm.

"The music room's gonna be ready tomorrow afternoon." Rufus told him with a proud smile on his face.

"You bought guitars?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah." Rufus replied.

"Cool," Sephiroth told him.

"Why?" Rufus asked.

"Nothing. I just thought I'd play some tunes." Sephiroth replied before taking a sip of wine.

Rufus shrugged and leaned back on his chair. "To tell you the truth, I'd rather be a musician than sitting there in my office and signing papers and then computing for the money supply and blah blah blahs." He explained.

"Right," Sephiroth said with an unconvinced look on his face.

"No, really. But then I have to do work so I guess Old Man's decision of burning the piano paid off." Rufus stated flatly.

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows at him. "Your damn father burned the piano?" he asked in disbelief.

"I was only seven." Rufus told him.

Sephiroth laughed at him. "Your father's a dick." He said.

"I know," Rufus told him before laughing with him.

Then they stopped.

"So, what would you rather be right now?" Sephiroth asked.

"Are you deaf? I told you that I'd rather be a musician. A singer. A performer." Rufus told him before flipping his hair. "Besides, I've got the looks and the charms and I have the voice and the talent," he continued with a proud look on his face.

Sephiroth fought the urge to laugh and insult Rufus. "Can you dance?" he asked.

Rufus frowned at him. "Of course!" he said.

"What, are you going to start a band and then perform?" Sephiroth snickered.

Rufus suddenly had an idea. "You just gave me an idea," he said with a sly smile on his face.

Sephiroth stopped snickering. "Oh no, don't look at me like that." He told him.

"Just kidding." Rufus pointed out before proceeding to eat.

Sephiroth thought for a while as he stared at his food. And then he smiled slightly before turning back to Rufus. "You know, I think it's a good idea." He pointed out.

Rufus stopped eating and frowned at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth grinned at him, "It can be your side-line! It can also be mine! You know, in case we get bored with our work, we can always go on-stage and perform!" he suggested.

"You're insane," Rufus pointed out with a sneer.

"I _am_ supposed to be insane! Now, c'mon, what do you say about the idea?" Sephiroth convinced.

Rufus had this glum look on his face. "Right." He said sarcastically.

"Rufus, you said that you want to perform," Sephiroth began.

"Yes, but I still have other things to think about like how I'm going to boost up the sales of my company and how I'm going to make the electricity distribution worldwide without the use of Mako energy!" Rufus pointed out.

Sephiroth was silent for a few seconds before smiling slyly at Rufus. "You're 20 years old and you're thinking like a damn 30-year-old millionaire." He pointed out.

"Oh, thank you," Rufus said, taking it as a compliment.

"Actually, it's supposed to be an insult," Sephiroth pointed out with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Rufus raised his eyebrow at him. "Well what do you want me to do?! This is the world that I was born into! This is my destiny: to control ShinRa! I inherited everything from Old Man and I'm not letting anyone else get it and I'm definitely not going to let it all go down the drain." He pointed out with a sneer.

"Well, isn't it also your destiny to play instruments and to sing?" Sephiroth asked.

Rufus was quiet for a few seconds before telling him, "And if we are going to have a band, what instrument will you play?" he asked.

"I can be the bass player." He presented with a proud smile on his face.

Rufus just stared at him. "Where the hell are we going to get the other players?" he asked.

"I can help you find those. You stay in your office and I'll do the searching. At least through this new band that we're going to start, we can make ourselves useful!" Sephiroth told him.

"I am already useful the way I am." Rufus told him.

"Further useful?" Sephiroth urged.

"Whatever," Rufus said glumly, feeling a little bit uncomfortable about the idea.

After dinner, they both went to the young lady's room. The room was only lit by one wall lamp and it looked so dim. Rufus pushed Sephiroth's wheelchair towards the bed before he went back to the door to close it. 

"You think she'll be okay?" Sephiroth asked.

Rufus just stared at her with a blank look on his face. "Where the hell can we find him?" he asked.

Sephiroth shrugged. "Let's just hope that this idea of ours can help her…" he said softly.

Rufus reached down and touched her cheek lightly and brushed off loose strands of hair away from her face. "Yes." He told Sephiroth softly.


	3. The Formation of a New Friendship

The Formation of a New Friendship

            "This is one of the stupidest days of my life," Rufus thought miserably, realizing that there was something wrong with his current computations. He shook his head in dismay. "Face it, Rufus, you're not made to be a math whiz no matter what your Old Man says…" he thought silently before he shoved away the calculator and the list of expenses for the past seven days. With that, he phoned Heidegger and just instructed him to do the computations before he decided to just go and check out Sephiroth who was supposed to be resting… but when he arrived in his friend's room, he realized that the wheelchair was there but his friend was not there anymore. He frowned slightly before heading for the young lady's room, checking if he went there, but he wasn't.

"Damn… don't tell me he went out already?! He's not yet in good condition to get out of that wheelchair… and I don't think he's mentally stable too…" he thought silently before rushing out of the room and then down to the lobby to check with the receptionist.

"You didn't notice him?" Rufus asked.

"No, sir," the receptionist replied.

Rufus also asked the other guards but received the same replies. Frustrated, he just went to the elevator, "Well knowing him, he must've sneaked out from the window… hopefully he didn't bring his Masamune to cause trouble." He thought nervously before thinking of pressing the button for the 70th floor… but he stopped himself. Instead, he pressed the button to the floor where the music room is located.

Upon reaching the music room, he hesitated to enter for a while, thinking about his workload in his office. "Chill out, Rufus. Your Old man is dead…" he thought silently before proceeding to enter.

He gazed around, admiring the room with white marble walls and the red carpeted floor. He smiled slightly before approaching the piano, never bothering to close the door. He sat down in front of it, opened the cover and then began to play a soft jazzy tune.

He went on for hours and hours, playing several pieces that he knew by heart from childhood… until he was interrupted when he heard someone step inside.

Rufus ignored the person for a while by glancing at his watch, seeing that he had spent five hours inside the room… and he forgot to eat his lunch. He turned back to the person with a stiff look on his face.

Reno smiled unbelievably at him and applauded.

Rufus frowned at him.

"Don't mind me saying, President Rufus, but that was excellent." Reno remarked with a two-thumbs-up signal.

Rufus got up. "Well then, thank you, Reno. Now, what do you want?" he asked, sounding sarcastic.

Reno ignored the sarcasm and just proceeded. "Well… I… I was wondering if Rude and I could have an off?" he asked.

"Where are you going?" Rufus asked.

"Well…" Reno hesitated.

"Bar-hopping?" Rufus suggested.

"Yeah." Reno replied with a shrug.

Rufus looked away. "Go ahead." He told him.

Reno had this pleased look on his face. "Gee… you mean it?" he asked unbelievably.

Rufus stared curiously at him. "Why, you haven't had an off before?" he asked with a sarcastic tone.

Reno shook his head. "Never mind, sir… erm… one more question, sir," he began again.

"Hurry with it," Rufus muttered.

"Erm… if you don't mind, since we don't think you would be using all the instruments here… can we play them?" Reno asked.

"Since when did my Turks get interested in music?" Rufus asked with a nasty tone.

"Well… guess it's in everyone." Reno replied simply.

Rufus just rolled his eyes while shaking his head. "Go ahead. Just don't let it interfere with your work and don't destroy them." He told him before leaving.

"Gee, thanks, Prez," Reno said with a pleased but sly look on his face.

Reno looked around the whole room, examining the way it looked. 

And he saw the drum set. He frowned slightly before going to it, staring at it for a few seconds before grabbing the drumsticks, sat down on the stool before it and then began to play.

He sounded like a pro.

Unknown to him, Rufus was listening outside the room. "Never knew that guy could play… maybe Rude can play the sax and Elena can play the violin or something… oh well… better get back to work," he thought silently with an inner laugh before proceeding back to his office.

            "I don't want to be mean… but we have been roaming around Midgar for days now and you still don't have an occupation." Red XIII pointed out to Cloud as they stopped walking in front of the newly-rebuilt church in Sector 6. 

Cloud ignored the remark and just stared up at the steeple. He sighed heavily before proceeding inside the church, with Red XIII still following from behind him.

"What are we doing here?" Red XIII asked in a whispery tone.

Cloud did not reply. He stared straight ahead at the cross being illuminated by the sunlight seeping through the stained glass windows. He stared at it with his wide blue eyes, and Red XIII could clearly notice the sadness in his eyes. Red just bowed down his head and sat down. "You go ahead and pray. I'll wait over here." He told Cloud.

Cloud bowed down his head and stared at the wooden floor before slowly reaching out for Red's head and patted it gently. Red nuzzled his cheek against his hand before he watched him walk down the aisle in a slow pace. Cloud still kept his gaze at the cross and the look on his face seemed to ask a very clear and pathetic, "Why?"

And he reached the flowerbed before the altar. He looked down at it, examining its simplicity and beauty. "How could they still bloom in here?" he said softly.

"Because some people still believe in miracles,"

Cloud instantly turned to one of the front pews to his right… and kneeling there within the shadowed area was someone whom he hadn't been expecting to see in all those years that life had been "peaceful". His mouth dropped open in disbelief as he took a step backward, feeling so shocked. He thought it was a ghost, but when he turned to Red XIII and saw that his "pet" was also staring unbelievably at the kneeling person, he knew that it was for real.

He was quiet, not knowing how to react or what to say.

The man with long silver hair and green eyes turned away from Cloud and stared up at the cross again, then closed his eyes and bowed down his head. He remained like that for a few more moments, kneeling down and praying… and then opened his eyes again and made the sign of the cross… and then got up, went to the aisle and genuflected before the tabernacle.

Cloud could not believe what he had just witnessed… and Red XIII was just too speechless even as he joined Cloud.

Finally, Cloud spoke up, "Wh…what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Praying. I should ask you the same question, Cloud," Sephiroth replied with a haughty look on his face.

"You have the nerve to be here… and I never knew that you could be such a hypocrite…" Cloud told him with a low tone that sounded like an angry growl as his eyes flared with too much fury, clenching his fists and ready to attack Sephiroth. "You should be in Hell!" he snapped at him.

"You have no right to judge me; only God can tell me whether I'll be going to heaven or in hell so shut the hell up." Sephiroth snapped at him.

"?!" Cloud wasn't able to answer back. A part of him showed too much confusion and anger combined… and the other one, disappointment.

Sephiroth proceeded, "Sinners can repent and if given the chance, be forgiven by God…"

"Why don't you just enter the seminary if you like to preach?" Cloud pointed out, cutting him off, with a sarcastic smile on his face.

But Sephiroth proceeded, "…according to _her_."

Cloud's eyes widened. "Wh…what?" he asked.

Sephiroth just shrugged. "I have to go now." He told him before he proceeded to leave, but Cloud went after him and grabbed his left arm, stopping him. "Where is she?" he demanded with a tone that seemed to falter despite the toughness of the voice.

Sephiroth frowned at him, "Who?" he asked, acting innocent.

"Dammit! You know who I'm talking about?!" Cloud snapped at him, his grip tightening around his arm.

"Ow, dammit! Don't squeeze!" Sephiroth shoved him away and dusted his hurt arm, but he was kind of shocked when Cloud just collared him. "Where the hell is she?!" he demanded angrily.

Sephiroth was amazed at how angry Cloud was at him at that moment, but he just kept his thoughts to himself, "I must've really been too insane to notice that I've hurt everyone's feelings including hers… oh well, can't do anything about that now… except maybe…" he just smiled calmly at him. "Who?" he asked again.

Cloud's grip tightened around his collar. "Goddamn it, Sephiroth! You know who I'm talking about!" he yelled angrily at him.

"Thou shall not use God's name in vain." Sephiroth said with a sing-song voice, as if annoying him.

"Oh shut up! I don't care about religion or anything else…" Cloud began,

"…but her?" Sephiroth cut off.

Cloud fell silent.

Red XIII just stood behind Cloud, watching them quietly.

"You were from the Lifestream before you came back here. You and Rufus… I know it… where is she?" Cloud asked with a slightly-trembling tone.

Sephiroth just smiled slyly at him, "Zack is also in the Lifestream. I think they got back together again," he told him with a sneer before walking out of the Church.

Red XIII noticed that Sephiroth was limping, like there was something wrong with his right leg.

Cloud felt like he had been stabbed several times in the heart… and the blade went through his soul. His eyes were wide in indescribable shock.

It's like everything just went down the drain… and he had never felt so numb like that before… he wanted to cry but he stopped himself. Instead, he just appeared to have calmed down before following Sephiroth outside the Church.

"Hey," Cloud said stiffly, trying hard to control the tone of his voice so that Sephiroth wouldn't notice that he was already trembling.

Sephiroth stopped walking and turned back to him.

Cloud looked up at him. "You know the way to the Lifestream… can you tell me?" he asked rather pathetically.

"Can't tell you." Sephiroth said simply.

Cloud fell silent for a few seconds before speaking up again, "Well… are you going to see her again?" he asked.

"Yeah." He told him casually.

Cloud forced a weak smile at Sephiroth. "Say hi to her for me, will you? As a favor? I wouldn't ask for anything more… and tell Zack to… to take care of her." He said.

Red XIII could easily sense the deep sadness from Cloud's facial expression and his teary eyes.

Sephiroth was examining the look in Cloud's eyes and he saw tears. It made him smile slyly again. "Sure. On one condition." He told him.

Cloud frowned slightly, suddenly feeling nervous.

Sephiroth patted Cloud's shoulder. "Follow me." He commanded before leading the way.

Cloud and Red XIII exchanged confused glances before finally deciding to follow Sephiroth. At first they wondered where he was going to go and what was the condition… and then everything became clear to them: he was taking them to ShinRa.

Cloud frowned. "You work here?" he demanded.

"First Class Soldier. And you? You married to Tifa?" Sephiroth asked casually.

Cloud's frown deepened and he made a face. "No." he said simply, bowing down his head. He has other concerns besides Tifa… he doesn't love Tifa… he loves _her. If only _she_ knew…_

"How come? She's such a pretty girl." Sephiroth remarked.

"You don't marry someone just because they're beautiful, Sephiroth. Why don't you just take her?" Cloud snapped impatiently.

"No. I'm not interested. I have other plans besides feisty girls like her." Sephiroth said with a silly look on his face. "Well then, where are you staying? Are you even working or something?" he asked.

"I… used to stay in Kalm with Tifa and the others… but I left… to make myself useful. They must've thought that I'm such a big bum and a big burden there. I took Red XIII with me." Cloud replied.

"I can see that… so, where are you working?" Sephiroth asked.

"None yet. Still looking for a job." Cloud replied, suddenly easing up a bit.

Sephiroth did not answer as they finally entered the ShinRa Building.

All eyes turned to them, staring at them in awe as they passed by.

"Why did you take me here?" Cloud asked seriously.

"Stop asking questions and just follow me." Sephiroth snapped with a demanding tone.

Cloud just kept quiet, his mind suddenly filled with sad thoughts and useless memories from two years before… when she was still alive.

            She moved slightly, her eyes twitching slightly as if struggling to open them.

Rufus's face suddenly had this enlightened facial expression when he saw that she moved. He got up from the couch and knelt down by the bed beside her and gently stroked her hair. 

She weakly opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "R…Rufus?" she called out with a soft tone that sounded almost like a whimper.

"Yes, I'm here," he told her reassuringly.

She smiled weakly, but her green eyes reflected too much happiness… and tears fell from them, "I… I can feel him…he's here…" she said softly.

Rufus frowned slightly. "Who?" he asked.

She turned to him.

There was silence.

He smiled bitterly at her, pitying her condition. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.

She just smiled at him. "Cloud…" she replied.

Rufus turned his gaze to the door, staring at it for a few moments as if thinking whether he should run back to his office or not.

"Rufus, I… I want to see him…" she struggled to get up but she fell back on the bed with a hurtful look on her face. 

He watched as she struggled, but she got tired easily… and in no time, she was asleep again.

He got up with a frustrated look on his face. "At least she opened her eyes…" he thought silently before running out of the room and proceeded back to his office… and upon arriving there, he saw that Sephiroth was already there… with another guy.

Cloud Strife.

Rufus's eyes slightly widened upon seeing him. "She…she's right… he's here…" he thought silently before listening to Sephiroth's declaration that surprised not only Cloud, but also Rufus himself: "Rufus, I have found our lead guitarist."


	4. The Wall Market

The Wall Market

            "It's been a month ever since Cloud had gone off…" Marlene said sadly as she sat down for breakfast one morning.

"Oh, don't worry about him, Marlene. He's a big boy; he can take care of himself." Barret said reassuringly with a gentle tone… though his facial expression revealed that he was being sarcastic.

"I'm worried about Cloud… you think he's okay?" Tifa asked with a worried look on her face.

"I think you were the one who sent him off... and now you're worried about him?" Barret pointed out.

"I was just stating the obvious to him!" she snapped with a defensive tone.

"Well you must've hurt his feelings…" Barret told her.

"I think it's better of that way," Vincent told them.

All eyes turned to him.

"Vincent is right. He has to know that the world doesn't only revolve around him. I know… I know how much he loves Aerith very much even though he didn't say anything about it… but it's in his eyes and the way he acts. Why do you think he's become so distant to us? All he thinks about is how pathetic his life his without Aerith." Tifa told them.

"Are you jealous?" Marlene asked directly.

Tifa sincerely shook her head. "Sometimes, it just makes me wish that she should be alive right now so that Cloud wouldn't be like this. I only want to see them happy." She said with a gentle smile on her face.

Vincent just stared at them.

Tifa thought for a while before replying, "I'll follow him. He must've gone to Midgar." She said with a cheerful look on her face.

"Not again…" Barret said.

"Why follow him?" Vincent asked.

"I want to make sure that he's safe! Who knows, he could've killed himself because he couldn't take his life anymore!" Tifa reasoned out.

"Tifa, if he killed himself, Red could've returned here." Barret pointed out.

"Maybe Red lost his way! Oh c'mon, Barret. I'll just go and check on Cloud in Midgar and once I hear word about him that he's okay, even if I don't see him, I'll come back here as soon as possible." She said reassuringly before she proceeded to the door and left.

"I'm worried about that girl." Barret told them.

"I'll follow her secretly in case something bad happens." Vincent got up from his seat and proceeded to follow Tifa in secret.

            "You know, I just don't see why we have to form a goddamn band." Cloud pointed out with a grouchy look on his face as he caught up with Rufus and Sephiroth who were both heading for the dining area.

"It's for the money. Besides, you want a job, right?" Sephiroth pointed out.

"But… I was thinking of joining SOLDIER again…" Cloud protested.

"You can do both. I'm in SOLDIER again, but being in a band is like a sideline. That way, earning money would be easier." Sephiroth pointed out.

Cloud watched quietly as Sephiroth and Rufus took their seats.

Rufus saw that Cloud was staring unbelievably at him. "Well don't look at me like that; it was Sephiroth's idea. Take a seat and have dinner with us," he told him.

Cloud hesitated for a moment but then he realized that he was really hungry, so he just decided to join them despite the fact that his conscience was already nagging him for deciding to eat with his two former enemies.

He ate quietly, but listened to Rufus and Sephiroth. The latter did most of the talking and the former would usually contradict the latter with snide remarks and comments.

"By the time we make our first record, it will take us a month or so. We still have to compose our own songs." Sephiroth told Rufus.

"I have one song in mind. It's called _'I Love Money.' Haah!" Rufus said with a sarcastic tone._

"I'm not kidding, Rufus, please be serious," Sephiroth snapped at him.

"And I'm not kidding either when I say that I am not interested in joining a band. Really." Rufus pointed out with a serious tone.

"Well… if you're a band member, you can easily attract the attention of girls… who knows, you can meet your future Mrs. ShinRa from the audience seated in the front row!" Sephiroth said with a singsong voice.

"I don't care about girls." Rufus muttered.

"You care about money," Cloud mumbled before taking a sip of wine.

"Nah, he cares about boys." Sephiroth kidded.

"Shut up. I'm not gay." Rufus told him through clenched teeth.

Sephiroth just laughed.

Cloud felt so ridiculous and it could be seen in his face. "I can't believe I'm with these two guys who are already supposed to be six feet under the ground… and they're acting like real friends…" he thought silently.

"Something wrong, Cloud?" Rufus asked, wanting to change the subject to avoid an argument with Sephiroth.

Cloud just shook his head. "Nothing." He replied before proceeding to eat.

They all fell silent… until Rufus spoke up again, but only to Sephiroth, "She woke up… and she's looking for him,"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's good." He said with a pleased expression on his face.

"Should we tell him?" Rufus asked casually.

Sephiroth just shook his head. "Not now," he replied.

"Who's she?" Cloud asked curiously, feeling curious all of a sudden.

The two fell silent, and they were looking at each other like they were signaling one another on who was supposed to answer to Cloud's question.

Rufus rolled his eyes. "Just Elena." He fibbed.

Cloud just turned away and sighed heavily.

            "Excuse me, sir," Tifa began as she approached a tall dark-haired man with deep brown eyes when she entered a small bar at the Wall Market.

The man stared at her from head to toe before smiling maliciously, "Well, hello there, miss." He greeted.

Tifa faked a smile. "I'd like to ask you a question on where I could find an information booth?" she asked.

"It's late. They close at 5:00 pm. Why would you be looking for an information booth anyway, miss?" he asked.

She just ignored him because she sensed danger… and she felt uncomfortable in the way that the man was looking at her. She decided to turn away and leave, but the man went after her and grabbed her wrist to stop her, "Hey, hey, hey! What's the rush, pretty lady?" he asked.

"Let go of me," Tifa warned with a threatening tone.

"Whoa… tough one, huh?" he quickly wrapped his arm around her, crushing her to himself. "Heheheh, I could use some nice lovin' from a lovely girl like you tonight." He whispered slyly before making a move to kiss her.

"Oh, yuck!" she kneed his crotch, making him howl in pain but he did not let go of her… the more he held her tightly against himself.

"Let me go, dammit!" she tried to push him away from her, but she couldn't. She wondered why the other people inside the bar did not even give a damn about her… maybe they thought that she and the man are related… or that she's a hooker and he hired her but she's just playing hard-to-get.

"Damn it!" she cursed out loud.

"You… I'm gonna teach you a lesson not to mess with me! I'm the leader of the most famous motorcycle gang here in Midgar, dontcha know that?!" he snapped at her.

"Well if you're famous, how come I don't even know you?" she insulted.

He got fed up with her and just decided to slap her face hard and hit her until she lost consciousness.

Vincent, still hiding from the shadows outside, wondered why Tifa took so long inside the bar… and he was in awe when he saw a mean-looking tall man carrying her out of the bar and heading for the direction of the Honeybee Inn. "Oh my goodness…" he muttered to himself as his eyes grew wide. 

He wanted to go after them immediately, but he thought twice. "I mustn't cause obvious trouble…" and turned to the direction of the exit to Sector 4. He immediately got out, hiding his left claw underneath his long red cloak. Just as he was about to round the corner going to Sector 3, he stopped when he almost bumped against a tall man in black. "Oh, sorry," Vincent said, his head bowed down as if hiding his face and not wanting to look at the man… and then just stepped out of the way of the man and went off again.

The tall man turned back to look at him. "Isn't that one of your friends?" he asked his two other blonde companions.

"I've seen him but we are not acquainted," Rufus pointed out before flipping his hair.

"Vincent," Cloud went after him, leaving Sephiroth, Rufus and Reno there.

"Now what?" Rufus asked.

"I don't know. Let's wait for them." Sephiroth said.

"Gee… President Rufus… I don't know why you wanted to take me to Sector 5 with you guys to celebrate… but at least it's like an off." Reno said with a sheepish look on his face.

"I need a bodyguard. I don't trust this guy over there." Rufus referred to Sephiroth with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Sephiroth just sneered at him before turning to Reno. "Don't be ridiculous and don't listen to Rufus. You're not his bodyguard right now because he is in a disguise so people wouldn't mob him in case he gets recognized as the President. You're part of us now." He pointed out.

"What?" Reno asked with a clueless look on his face.

"This silver-haired ass just formed a friggin' band and you're the drummer because I heard you play and I jokingly recommended you to him." Rufus pointed out before flipping his hair and then raking his fingers through it repeatedly as if attempting to brush it back.

"Mwahahaha! It's useless, Rufus, you didn't use gel," Sephiroth told him.

"Right. All for this stupid celebration. Why in the Wall Market? We could've just gone to the bar in Sector 1! It's air-conditioned and more comfortable and less dirty. I wouldn't have to worry about getting salmonella or typhoid in that place compared to the Wall Market!" Rufus snapped impatiently.

"The booze is better in the Wall Market, believe me, Prez. Rude and I would usually go there if not in Seventh Heaven." Reno pointed out with a proud look on his face.

Silence.

"Seventh Heaven?" Rufus asked.

"It was a bar in Sector 7 owned by one of the AVALANCHE members named Tifa. Rude likes her. Unfortunately, she's not here anymore ever since Sector 7 got destroyed." Reno pointed out before sniffing.

Rufus frowned at him. "Ugh…" and just looked away, scanning the whole area and the streets that they had just passed through. He looked down at his pants, checking to see if they are still clean. He moaned when he realized that his shoes were already muddy and dusty. "Oh damn! We should've just taken my car with us!" he wailed.

"Don't be such a brat, Rufus. Your car will reveal to people who you are and they'll mob you." Sephiroth pointed out with a teasing smile on his face.

"Right, like they won't mob you because you killed several of them before?!" Rufus snapped back at him.

"What's takin' Cloud so long? I'm craving for booze right now," Reno muttered miserably.

After a few more minutes, Cloud finally returned with Vincent. They both had this worried look on their faces.

"Finally! The sooner we drink, the sooner we can leave this horrible place," Rufus told them with a frown on his face.

"Guys… I'd like you to meet Vincent Valentine… Rufus, he used to work in ShinRa as a Turk." Cloud introduced nervously.

"Yeah, I remember seeing his files somewhere in the office." Rufus said, eyeing Vincent from head to toe.

"You look disturbed. Anything wrong?" Sephiroth asked, scanning the look on their faces.

"Uhm… you guys go ahead to the bar in the Wall Market. When we get there, Vincent and I will split from you guys and I'll just follow after we do something…" Cloud explained.

Rufus frowned at him. "What are you going to do? What if you're still a rebel against my Company and you'll just meet up with your members and then kidnap me?" he demanded.

"No way! AVALANCHE is no more, for your information. We need to save Tifa!" Cloud pointed out.

Silence.

"Why, what happened to her?" Sephiroth asked.

"She got into trouble looking for Cloud… now she's been taken to the Honeybee Inn by some big ugly-looking man." Vincent explained.

Silence.

"Honeybee Inn?" Rufus asked unbelievably, feeling so disgusted.

"Do you even know what's in there? You look like the type of person who's never even been to one of those places despite the fact that your dad used to frequent that place." Cloud told him.

"Of course, I know what it is! Old man used to go there. I know what he's doing there and it simply disgusts me. Well whoever your friend is, you'd better get her out of there fast before anything bad happens to her!" Rufus snapped at him.

"But how? I'm sure that if the five of us all enter there and they all see that we're all men, they'll be suspecting that we're gay or something." Cloud said.

"Why, you've been there before?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud blushed slightly. "I'll explain later." He muttered.

"Then one of us should disguise as a girl and pretend to be the girlfriend of one of us guys here." Rufus suggested before flipping his hair again.

Silence.

Sephiroth and Reno began to scan the faces of Cloud, Rufus and Vincent… and they both stopped to scan Vincent's appearance further.

Vincent wondered why the two were looking at him. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Sephiroth smiled at him. "He can be the girl." He told them.

Vincent's eyes grew wide. "Wh…what?!" he demanded.

"But we need to fix him up," Cloud pointed out.

"How?" Reno asked.

"Let's go to the Wall Market. I've been through this before with…" he trailed off. He almost mentioned her name again. He just bowed down his head. "Let's just go," he continued before leading the way.

As they were walking, Vincent was already complaining, "You know, I've never really dressed up as a girl before and I have no intention of doing it right now!" he told them.

"Well there's always a first time for everything, Vincent." Sephiroth pointed out.

"Unless you refuse." Vincent argued.

"Hey, there should be two girls! The other girl will be the one to look for Tifa while Vincent and whoever his boyfriend is will be the decoy, diverting the attention of the guards from the other girl." Reno pointed out.

"You and your silly ideas," Rufus muttered.

"That's the way Turks think." Reno said proudly. "We have to think of every possible strategy to get what we want!" he continued.

Vincent scratched his head. "I don't remember being like that… but anyway… who's the guy I'm gonna go with?" he asked seriously.

"Since you're tall… we're gonna need a much taller guy for you…" Cloud turned to Sephiroth.

"I'd love to." Sephiroth said with a nasty look on his face.

Vincent shuddered. "Oh, Lucrecia… why must I go through this?" he prayed softly as he looked up at the heavens.

"You're saying something?" Sephiroth asked.

"Nothing." Vincent lied with a miserable look on his face.

Finally, they reached the Wall Market. The place looked a little different, considering the fact that there were new stores and restaurants and bars. 

"What do we need to do?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud thought for a while before replying, "Vincent's hair is long enough so he doesn't need a wig anymore. What he needs is a dress and make up… plus some sexy cologne and lingerie."

"LINGERIE?!" Vincent asked in disbelief.

"You know, why don't you just do it yourself, Cloud? After all, she's your girlfriend," Rufus pointed out with a haughty look on his face, and his tone revealed annoyance.

Cloud examined the look on Rufus's face before saying, "You'll be the other girl. You go inside and find Tifa."

Rufus's eyes grew wide. "What?! I don't have long hair, you can't turn me into a girl! Why not Reno? Red head girls can be more alluring!" he snapped.

"He's slouching and he's too thin. You're okay for the part." Sephiroth pointed out.

"But…" Rufus stammered.

"Then we'll get you a blonde wig. It's as simple as that." Cloud said with a sarcastic smile on his face.

            Tifa slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was in a weird-looking room. She looked around, tried to move but she couldn't.

She was strapped down to the bed. "Oh my goodness…" she thought silently.

She began to panic as she tried to release herself but it was useless. She screeched to catch the attention of anyone else who might want to wonder if the person screaming is in trouble or not. But she stopped when she saw the man enter the room with a frown on his face. "Oh, you're awake, pretty lady," he said.

"You bastard! Let me go!" she snapped at him.

"Heheheh… not until you…" he trailed off when someone knocked on the door.

"Hey, boss! Where do we get our turn?" someone from outside yelled.

The man rolled his eyes. "Later after I have my share of her, dammit!" he snapped back.

She wanted to shrink back. "Please… I know that this may sound impossible right now… but I hope someone rescues me… I'll definitely thank that person and might kiss him… I don't like it in here…" she prayed silently as she felt tears in her eyes.

The situation was driving her crazy and if she could just release herself from the leather straps, she would kill that ugly man. "Mustn't cry… mustn't get scared…" she kept reminding herself as she avoided the look from the man's eyes.

"Hey, boss, we gotta problem with one of our motorcycles!" someone from outside yelled.

The man rolled his eyes and went outside, leaving Tifa there.

She sighed heavily. "At least that spares me… for a few moments… I hope someone comes…" she said out loud.

            All eyes turned to the couple who was approaching the Honeybee Inn. The man was tall and had long silver hair tied into a loose ponytail with a black hair band and his unusually green eyes reflected too much arrogance. He was wearing a black tuxedo and he seemed to look like one of the richest guys from uptown. Walking hand-in-hand with him was a tall woman with long black hair and crimson eyes. She was wearing a long red gown underneath the white fur coat draped around her shoulders, covering her left arm. Following from behind them was another woman, but she had long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a white satin gown and she looked very rich. She stared annoyingly at the couple walking in front of her and overtook them with a haughty look on her face as she flipped her hair and headed straight to the guard in front of the Honeybee Inn. "Excuse me, ma'am, you can't just enter in there," the guard said.

She glared at him. "And why not?" she asked in an unusually feminine voice.

The guard stared hard at her. "Well… you still haven't showed me the member's card…" but before he could continue, the couple approached him. "Sir, we would like a room here, please," the silver-haired man said, pulling the black-haired-red-eyed beauty closer to him, making her gasp slightly.

"Uhm… your card, sir?" the guard asked, admiring the black-haired-red-eyed beauty.

From a distance, hiding behind the trashcan, Reno and Cloud were observing the events. "Looks like Vincent makes a more beautiful woman than Rufus." Reno pointed out.

"We did a good job in fixing them up," Cloud said with a slight smile on his face.

"Is that necessary?" Sephiroth asked the guard.

"Well, yeah. This is only exclusive to members and…" the guard began, but he stopped when he saw the silver-haired man pull out some money.

Sephiroth handed 50,000 Gil to the guard. "I'll give this to you first. It's just between you and me. Just make one of your attendants give me a room here because my house is too far from here and I just can't stand the temptation of… *ahem*… making sweet love to this lovely woman here beside me," he said with a sly look on his face as he gently stroked Vincent's cheek.

Vincent, in falsetto voice, giggled. "Oh, my beloved… uhm… Seph. You're such a darling… Ohohohohoho!"

"Of course, my Vinny-baby," Sephiroth said sweetly before kissing his cheek.

Vincent wanted to faint. "Oh, Lucrecia… WHY?!?!?" he prayed silently

Reno snickered. "That sounds convincing," he muttered to Cloud.

Cloud couldn't help but also laugh at the situation because it was really funny.

Rufus was beginning to feel itchy with the white gown and when he received the signal from Cloud, he proceeded to enter the Honeybee Inn one the guard was fully focused on Vincent and Sephiroth.

The moment Rufus got inside, he saw some gangsters crowded outside a particular room… the @#$% Room. He frowned slightly, heading for the direction of the Queen's Room and pretended to be checking out what's inside by peeking, and even though what he saw inside had shocked his eyes and made him feel so disgusted, he proceeded to listen to the gangsters' conversation:

"Is boss already fixing the motorcycle?"

"Yeah."

"What about the girl?"

"She's just inside."

"Man, I can't wait to have my share on her! Heheheh. She's such a pretty sight with those big boobs, don't you think?"

Rufus thought for a while, narrowing his eyes as he straightened up and pretended to be just fiddling with his nails.

Then, someone entered the scene. "Hey, all of you, come quick. We need to get boss a new screw driver fast!" announced the person.

"Bingo!" Rufus thought silently with an inner victorious smile.

Soon, all the gangsters were outside, leaving him there alone. Quickly, he proceeded to the @#$% Room and opened the door. 

Tifa jerked as she turned to the door. Her crimson eyes were wide in fear and she was already crying.

Rufus was in awe upon seeing her like that.

She was happy to see someone enter, "Oh please, help me!" she pleaded.

"Are you Tifa?" Rufus asked with his masculine tone.

"Yes, I'm…" she trailed off, realizing that it was a man. She stared hard at him as her eyes narrowed carefully. He did not wait any further, he went over to her and started to undo the straps. "Damn these… it's too tight! Does this room have a knife or scissors or something else?" Rufus asked her with an annoyed look on his face.

Tifa's mouth dropped open. "There's no way that you're Cloud, right?!" she asked in disbelief, recalling that Cloud also did the same before: Cross-dressing.

Rufus just glared at her. "There's no way that I am that spiky-headed jerk. He's outside waiting for us." He told her stiffly as he tried his best to undo one of the straps on her hand. "Gods! What the bloody hell did that guy use for this one?" he said out loud.

"But… but… who are you?" Tifa asked, trying to examine the blue eyes and the facial features. He does resemble almost half of Cloud's features, but his face is more delicate and cleaner… not to mention, fairer.

They were interrupted and Rufus jerked upright when the big ugly guy returned. "Hey! What the?!" the man snapped at them.

Rufus could not take it anymore: the place, the situation, the dress and the suffering of this woman beside him; he just grabbed his shotgun from underneath his dress and aimed at the big guy… and fired right away.

Rufus was already panting hard, his heart beating faster than usual. He was angry at everyone and at everything. "Guys like you make me sick! Just like Old Man," he sneered at the dead man whom he had shot at the head. And went over to the man to search for a Swiss knife. "No gangster should be a gangster without it," he figured as he finally pulled out a Swiss knife from the man's leather vest pocket. With that, he searched for where the scissors are within the Swiss knife and once he found it, he rushed over to Tifa again and cut off the straps. "My name's Rufus. Rufus ShinRa. Remember me?" he asked with a wink.

"WHAT?!" Tifa cried out in disbelief. She moved away from him the moment she was released.

"The least you could do is be grateful, Miss Lockheart. Now, let's go before his posse arrives," Rufus told her stiffly before he grabbed her hand, pulled her out of the bed and led the way to the door, but before they could go out, the other gangsters arrived.

"Hey, you killed our boss!" one of the members snapped out at them.

"Uh-oh." Tifa muttered under her breath.

"Can you fight at this condition?" Rufus asked her.

"Why did you have to kill their boss?! Now we're in a much heavier situation! And why the hell are you doing this?" she told him frantically. "Oh dear… and I told myself earlier that I'd kiss my rescuer!" she thought nervously.

"Because he annoys me! And don't be ridiculous. I am risking my neck here for you already, Tifa." Rufus let go of her and aimed his gun at the gangsters again. "Ready," he muttered with a sly smile on his face.

Tifa positioned herself for battle…

            "Uhm… Sephiroth, can you come over here?" Vincent asked as he continued to peek outside using the keyhole.

Sephiroth got up from the bed. "This room is great! The bed is softer than the one I have in ShinRa." He said with a pleased look on his face before peeking out.

His eyes widened in surprise. "What the hell are they doing?!" he said in panic.

"They're fighting the gangsters." Vincent told him.

Silence.

"You think we should help them?" Vincent asked.

"Nah. Let Rufus do it alone. Besides, he's with Tifa. It can serve as his exercise because he just sits around in his office doing nothing… and with Tifa, she can do the distractions while he shoots them." Sephiroth pointed out.

"Don't you think Rufus can get into trouble for killing the whole Motorcycle Gang of Midgar?" Vincent asked.

"He can manage. Besides, those are criminals." Sephiroth told him.

            "I think the Prez lost his temper again…" Reno pointed out to Cloud.

They were still outside, but they could clearly hear the noise from inside: the sounds of pain, panic, guns firing and some screaming and cussing.

"Is that bad?" Cloud asked.

"It's like his limit break: with that kind of temper, he can even bring down Sephiroth." Reno said.

"Really?" Cloud asked in awe. 

"Depends on the situation." Reno replied with a silly smile on his face. "And he must've been in a bad mood ever since this afternoon." He pointed out.

"Oh so it takes a while before his limit gauge gets full?" Cloud asked.

"Depends on the situation," Reno pointed out again.

Finally, the commotion inside stopped and there was this long silence.

"Well?" Reno asked.

Cloud was just quiet, staring at the entrance door of the Honeybee Inn. "Good thing there are no other people here…" he thought silently to himself.

Then, the door opened and Rufus emerged from inside, carrying Tifa in his arms. He was already back into his black turtleneck, brown shoes and white pants get-up.

Cloud got up from his hiding place and rushed over to them. "What happened to her?" he asked.

"Got knocked-out by one of them but I killed the guy before he could hurt her further." Rufus replied.

"You okay?" Cloud asked him.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just don't make me do it again will you? I just killed all of them." Rufus said.

"Wh…wha?! What?! Rufus, it doesn't mean that if you're angry, you can just go around killing people!" Cloud pointed out.

"Oh and here's another ungrateful person. Be thankful that I saved your pretty little girlfriend!" Rufus mocked angrily.

"She's not my pretty little girlfriend, for you information!" Cloud pointed out with a mocking smile on his face before attempting to get Tifa from Rufus, "Now, give her to me. You're holding her too tightly, you might leave your hand marks on her body and end up hurting her." He told him.

But Rufus withdrew her away from Cloud with a disgusted look on his face. "Ugh! You lay your filthy hands off her! You just came from behind that bloody trash can! I'll carry her back to ShinRa and take care of her there. We need to get her out of this… *ugh* horribly disgusting place! Ugh!" Rufus said with an insulting gesture and tone as he spoke to Cloud.

"Very well. Whatever suits you. But I tell you, that girl _hates you." Cloud pointed out with a sneer._

"Please don't fight yet… Sephiroth and Vincent are not yet here." Reno told them.

Silence.

"Well, where are they?" Rufus asked impatiently.

"They're still inside the Queen's Room." Cloud said.

Silence.

"Go get them before they start making miracles; I'll go ahead to ShinRa and get Tifa treated by a doctor." Rufus told them with a snobbish look on his face before he went ahead.

"Yo, Prez! Don't you need a bodyguard?!" Reno called out, but Rufus just ignored him.

"Oh never mind, let's just go inside," Cloud said.

            "You think it's over?" Vincent asked.

Sephiroth turned back to him and saw that he had already taken off the disguise and had returned to his usual get-up. "I can't see anymore. I think Tifa threw one of those guys to the door and it blocked the keyhole." He explained.

"But can you hear anything?" Vincent asked, crossing his arms.

Sephiroth was about to reply but he jerked when someone just began to knock on the door. "Sephiroth? Vincent? You in there?"

"It's Cloud," Vincent said.

Sephiroth unlocked the door and opened it quickly. "What took you so long?" he asked impatiently.

"Blame it all on Tifa and Rufus." Cloud muttered.

Reno studied Vincent and Sephiroth before laughing. "You sure you two didn't do anything stupid in here, huh?" he teased.

"Don't even think about it," Vincent muttered miserably.

"So, where's the girl and our keyboardist?" Sephiroth asked before removing the ponytail from his hair and throwing it aside.

"He took her to ShinRa." Reno replied.

Silence.

"What?" Sephiroth asked.

"He took her to ShinRa." Cloud said.

"Bad move." Sephiroth muttered.

"Why?" Vincent asked.

"Scarlet." Sephiroth muttered.

Reno's eyes grew wide. "Oh yeah! I remember… that Scarlet hates Tifa to the bone… I dunno why." He said.

"Rufus should not leave Tifa alone or else that woman might kill her on the spot." Sephiroth told them.

"Shall we rush over there now?" Cloud asked.

"Hey, what about the drinks?" Reno asked with a disappointed look on his face.

"Rufus has a mini bar in his room, we can go there later after we make sure that Rufus stays with her." Sephiroth said.

"Why are you so concerned about Tifa?" Cloud asked curiously.

"I'm not concerned about the girl, I'm concerned about _the bar in Rufus's room. If he stays with her, he sleeps there in her room, which means that the master's bedroom which is his room is going to be empty the whole night… which means that we can occupy it and have a party there since we all find this place disgusting! Mwahahahahahahahaha!" Sephiroth explained victoriously._

"That's good logic…" Vincent muttered miserably with a sarcastic tone.

"Why the hell do we have to drink, anyway?" Cloud asked curiously.

"Because we're celebrating! We have formed a band! Vinny here can be the acoustic guitar player." Sephiroth said.

"This is beginning to confuse me. I thought I mentioned that I'm going back to Kalm?" Vincent asked.

"You're not going anywhere. You'll stay in ShinRa with us and play with us in the band… and of course, drink with us," Sephiroth said, patting Vincent's shoulders.

Vincent just shook his head in disbelief. "If you are not Lucrecia's son, I would've disapproved of the idea…" he muttered miserably.

"So is that a yes?" Sephiroth asked with a wink.

Vincent just nodded. "Whatever." He replied with a shrug.

"Oh yeah! Now we're complete! Cool!" Reno cheered happily.

"Yay." Vincent said with a glum look on his face.

"Well… first we have to get out of this horrible place…" Cloud said before leading the way outside.


	5. Drinking and Stuff

Drinking and Stuff

            "Coming through," Elena cleared the way by the going ahead of Rufus who was still carrying Tifa. 

All eyes were on Rufus and the unconscious Tifa, as they passed through the ShinRa lobby going to the elevators.

Heidegger, Palmer and Scarlet were standing by the receptionist's desk when they saw the _horrible_ scene. "KYAH!!!" Scarlet screeched.

Rufus frowned slightly, getting ticked-off by the screech. "What's wrong with that woman?" he thought out loud.

"I don't know, sir. Maybe it's PMS." Elena joked before pressing the "up" button.

"Well I think that woman's too old to have PMS." Rufus muttered.

"Don't mind me asking, President Rufus, but… what happened? And why are you dressed that way?" she asked.

Eventually, Rufus didn't want to cause commotion within his executives so he did not really ask permission to leave and join Cloud and the others to the Wall Market. He just ignored the question.

They waited for the elevator to reach the lobby and once it opened, Rude was inside. The bald Turk blushed upon seeing the girl in Rufus's arms. "Uhm…" he began.

"Step aside," Rufus commanded. 

Rude instantly jumped out of the elevator to let Rufus and Elena go inside with Tifa.

"What floor, sir?" Elena asked.

"You know." Rufus muttered.

And Scarlet soon rushed to the scene.

Elena, upon seeing the enraged woman, immediately pressed the button corresponding to the floor where the infirmary is located so that the door would close and Scarlet couldn't get in. Luckily, the elevators were fast, so the doors immediately closed and started to move up.

            "KYAH! I won't be able to forgive him for doing this!!!" Scarlet screeched hysterically, pounding on the elevator door angrily.

"Gyahahaha! First we were worried on where he went to, and then we eventually found out that he left and then when he returned, he has that woman!" Heidegger pointed out as he crossed his arms.

Reeve joined them with a silly smile on his face, "Oh, c'mon, it's not like Rufus doesn't have the right to have a good time outside with his new friends and take home a pretty girl afterwards, right?" he joked, meaning to pester Scarlet even more as revenge for the annoying things she has done to him in the past.

"KYAH! Yes, he doesn't have the right to do that because he is a decent man! I knew that Sephiroth is such a bad influence!" Scarlet snapped impatiently.

"Oh so then you could say that Cloud Strife is also a bad influence… and also Reno?" Reeve asked.

"I'd like to have a word with that Turk later on…" Heidegger trailed off when Reeve cleared his throat, signaling to them that Sephiroth, Cloud, Reno and Vincent were approaching.

Vincent?

"Excuse me, you're blocking the way," Sephiroth pointed out.

"And you have the right to tell me that?" Scarlet asked nastily.

Sephiroth just glared at her with a mean smile on his face. She frowned at him and hastily turned away, glaring at Cloud. He just stared back at her with a blank look on his face. She gulped and just stepped away. 

"Reno," Heidegger began.

Reno turned to him. "Yes, sir?" he asked.

"I'd like to have a word with you." Heidegger told him.

After a few moments, the three entered the elevator and went off, leaving Reno there.

"What's the matter, Scarlet? Afraid of Sephiroth?" Reeve asked.

"Kyahahaha! Why should I be afraid of Sephiroth?" she asked him snottily.

"So, Reno, where have you been?" Heidegger asked.

"Eh… President Rufus insisted that I come with them to the Wall Market as a bodyguard." Reno told him casually.

"And what did you do there?" Heidegger asked.

Reno turned to Rude first, then back to Heidegger. The bald guy just turned away in a clueless fashion.

"We were supposed to go to a bar to celebrate because we just formed a band. I'm the drummer..." Reno began.

"Gyahahahaha! A band?! You got to be kidding me! What kind of nonsense is that?! Rufus playing in a band?! That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of about him!" Heidegger laughed.

"Let him finish, Heidegger," Reeve said before turning to Reno.

Reno proceeded with a slight frown on his face. "Then that Strife guy saw his friend, Vincent Valentine and he looked frantic so he went after him and asked what was wrong. Their friend Tifa was in trouble and needed help, so we had to help her. We went to the Honeybee Inn to rescue her and…" he was cut off when Heidegger stopped laughing and said, "What the… you did?!"

Reno thought for a while before saying, "Why?"

"Well… I received a report from there that a woman wearing a white gown murdered the whole motorcycle gang. We've been after that motorcycle gang ever since we've restored Midgar! Did you see her?" Heidegger asked.

Reno was silent, trying to stifle his laughter.

"Well?" Heidegger asked.

Reno just smiled slyly. "No. Didn't see her. I was too busy drinkin' booze while they were inside." And turned to Scarlet. "Turns out that the Prez enjoyed his stay inside the Honeybee Inn with Miss Lockheart while I got some hookers for Sephiroth, Vincent and Cloud… those three occupied the Group Room while Miss Lockheart and the Prez occupied the @#$% Room. Heheh. Made a lotta noise back there." He said, meaning to pester Scarlet.

She turned red. "Don't believe him, he's drunk! He doesn't know what he's saying! President Rufus would never step inside the Honeybee Inn and pick up a slut like… like that girl!" she snarled.

"Well, I know what I saw and to see is to believe." Reno pointed out.

They all fell silent.

"You're suspended for 5 weeks," Heidegger muttered.

"What?! But sir…" Reno began.

"Shut up! Just go to your quarters or else I'll request for President Rufus to give you a salary deduction!" Heidegger snapped impatiently at him.

"Geez, okay, sir…" Reno muttered miserably before he turned away, shaking his head in disbelief. "Man, if those are just ordinary employees here, I'd hit their heads with beer bottles." He thought silently with an angry look on his face before motioning for Rude to follow him.

Rude hesitated for a moment before following after Reno.

"So, what really happened?" Rude whispered.

"We went to the Honeybee Inn to rescue Tifa. The leader of the motorcycle gang kidnapped her. President Rufus entered the Honeybee Inn in a girl's dress and a blonde wig, while Sephiroth and Vincent distracted the guards…" Reno began in a whispery tone.

"So President Rufus was the one who…" Rude didn't want to continue anymore. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah. He was like a mean green killing machine back there! He shot everyone on his way and those who attempted to hurt Tifa again while she defended herself." Reno explained.

Rude fell silent.

Reno suddenly remembered something upon thinking why Rude suddenly became silent. "Oh… sorry, man. I know you like the girl… but maybe President Rufus just did that because he wanted to help Cloud and Vincent since they're her friends." He explained with an apologetic look on his face.

Rude just smiled slightly before leading the way outside. "It's okay. Let's just go to the nearest bar. I need a drink." He told him.

            "What a big room," Cloud said out loud.

They looked around, scanning the whole area. The walls were white and the carpet was blood red. Everything inside consisted of the colors white, black and red… and everything was neat and clean.

"That guy must be obsessive-compulsive." Cloud said before taking a seat on one of the couches by the window.

"You can fit two basketball courts in this place," Vincent analyzed out loud as he sat down beside Cloud before turning to Sephiroth. "Are you sure it's okay for us to stay here?" he asked.

Sephiroth went to the mini-bar and began to check out the drinks. "Yeah. He wouldn't mind. He's gonna be too busy taking care of Tifa." He told them.

"How would you know that he wouldn't mind?" Cloud asked with a suspicious look on his face.

"Frankly speaking, Sephiroth, I do hope you're not setting us up," Vincent told him.

Sephiroth just laughed. "No, of course not! This is not a set up! Do you see my Masamune anywhere in my grasp?" he asked with a ridiculous smile on his face before pulling out a bottle of Bacardi.

Cloud and Vincent just exchanged confused looks with each other, wondering if they should just leave or not.

"Stop worrying, you two! Rufus wouldn't mind as long as we don't mess up the place." Sephiroth told them reassuringly before placing the bottle on top of the coffee table in front of Cloud and Vincent. He went back to the mini-bar to get some glasses and placed those before them. "Peanuts, chips or anything?" he asked.

"What do you have in there?" Cloud asked, standing up and going to the mini-bar to inspect.

Vincent just kept quiet and stared at the floor with a tired look on his face. "Well at least there's a change in Cloud. He's actually socializing and talking to people." He thought silently before turning to Sephiroth. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt if I also talk to him… after all, he is Lucrecia's son." He thought silently before smiling slightly, "Anything salty?" he asked.

"A lot." Sephiroth told him.

Vincent just shrugged and began to pour the drinks while waiting for Cloud and Sephiroth to return with the food. "Don't mind me asking, but aren't you afraid of Scarlet and the others?" he asked.

"Why be afraid of them while they can be afraid of me?" Sephiroth asked with a proud smile on his face. "Without me in First Class Soldier, they'd fall. You get the point?" he asked arrogantly before pulling out a bag of cheese corn puffs from the storage. "This will do." He muttered.

"Bacardi and cheese?" Vincent asked in disbelief.

"What is Bacardi anyway?" Cloud asked.

"Taste it?" Vincent asked, offering him a glass.

Cloud sniffed it and frowned. "I think it can make me drunk…" he said.

"Why, you've never taken alcoholic beverages before?" Sephiroth asked in disbelief.

Cloud just pushed the glass away from himself. "I think I'll pass." He said.

"Why? Your mommy told you it's bad?" Sephiroth asked with a teasing tone.

Cloud eyed him carefully. "No, she didn't. I just don't like it right now." He said.

"Because you haven't tasted one before! There's always a first time for everything." Sephiroth said before he got up and returned to the mini-bar, pulling out the bottles of tequila, vodka, gin and red wine and placed them in front of Cloud, who was staring at the bottles with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"We're going to have a taste test." Sephiroth said.

"I'm not interested and I'm not thirsty so thanks anyway," Cloud said, sitting down on the other couch away from Sephiroth.

"Hey, Tifa once owned a bar! Didn't you try any of her drinks?" Sephiroth asked.

"Never mind, Sephiroth. You can't force Cloud if he doesn't want to." Vincent pointed out.

Sephiroth just decided to ignore Cloud and started drinking.

Cloud sighed heavily as he just decided to reach out for the bag of cheese puffs and eat.

The three were strangely quiet for several minutes, as if thinking of something nice to say to each other.

"Man, these two are so stiff… wish Rufus was here. I'm used to talking to him more than these two because we hang out together in the Lifestream." Sephiroth was thinking silently as he continued to drink.

Vincent looked away from the two and just bowed down his head. "What am I supposed to say to Sephiroth?" he thought silently.

Cloud began to stare again into empty space, thinking about one thing again: Zack and Aerith. He bowed down his head. "I guess I'm just another person with a false memory… maybe the reason why she paid attention to me was the fact that I reminded her of Zack… but she still loves her very much. Well… so much for that. As long as she's happy… I think I'll be okay…" he stopped his thoughts when he realized that his heart felt like sinking and tears were already welling up in his eyes. He stopped eating and sniffed. "Gods, where's Rufus's bathroom?" he muttered before he got up and walked briskly to the bathroom, finding it by himself.

Sephiroth and Vincent exchanged confused looks with one another after Cloud entered the bathroom and closed the door.

"What's wrong with him?" Sephiroth asked.

"You tell me," Vincent told him.

Silence.

"You were such a beautiful girl a while ago," Sephiroth said with a silly smile on his face.

Vincent frowned at him. "Don't start." He muttered miserably.

Sephiroth laughed before turning away. "Can you picture the five of us as a band being interviewed in a music channel and a question pops out, _'do each of you have a girlfriend_?' What will you answer?" he asked.

Vincent stiffened. "I… I don't know…" he said.

"C'mon, I'm sure you had one." Sephiroth said.

"If you don't know, I'm much older than you are and I've been alive in this world for a long time already… ever since before you were born." Vincent said.

"And?" Sephiroth asked mindlessly.

"Your mother was such a very beautiful woman." Vincent continued.

Sephiroth fell silent. "My mother?" he asked.

"Your _real_ mother." Vincent explained.

Sephiroth smiled softly as he nodded his head before turning back to Vincent. "I know. Rufus and Aerith told me… she told me." He explained.

Vincent's heart jumped and he blinked. "Who told you?" he asked.

"She herself told me," Sephiroth said with a casual look on his face before finishing off the contents of his glass. Vincent wondered how Sephiroth could just take in hard drinks like they were just water. But he did not answer, as if he was waiting for Vincent to just answer his first question.

Vincent sighed heavily before deciding to take some vodka. Before drinking, he replied, "I was in-love with her… she knew it… but I don't know if she understood it." He explained with a solemn look on his face.

Sephiroth could tell that the issue was really hard for Vincent. He turned away and shrugged, leaning back on the couch.

Vincent laughed, which surprised Sephiroth. "Must be the alcohol… you gave me a tall glass," Vincent explained to him. "I don't know how you must feel, but I'm still in-love with her… with Lucrecia… your mother… your mother, Sephiroth… Gods, you could've been my son!" Vincent explained with a hurtful smile on his face.

Sephiroth just stared at the glass before he got up and put down his own glass on the table. "I'll just go to the bathroom. Be right back. You can switch on the TV if you want to, the remote's over there," he told him before proceeding to the door and got out of the room. After closing the door, he sighed heavily and leaned against the door, looking up at the ceiling. With that, he proceeded to the elevators going to the laboratory.

Upon arriving there, he saw that the lights were still open. He smiled softly. "Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?"

            "I didn't know that her head was bleeding," Rufus mentioned as he sat down beside Tifa's bed.

"Well, it was bleeding badly. It's good that you brought her here immediately, sir. What hit her, anyway?" Reeve pointed out.

"It looked like a mace," Rufus said glumly before flipping his hair.

Reeve sighed heavily, "The doctor said that she's gonna be okay. She just needs to rest and take the right medication for seven days, at least, and then she can go. How did you find her, anyway?" he asked.

Rufus thought for a while, thinking whether he should explain to Reeve what he had gone through just to save Tifa, or just shut up… but he knew that he had to tell the truth so that his executives wouldn't suspect anything stupid about him… so he began to explain.

After the explanation, Reeve was breathless. "So Reno was telling the truth?!" he said in disbelief.

Rufus narrowed his eyes on him. "What do you mean? Did you interrogate him?" he asked.

"Well… yes. We all thought that you were kidnapped or something because when we went to check on your office, you weren't there, so we started panicking… and then we realized that Sephiroth and Cloud were also not there… and Reno. Scarlet said that they were bad influence on you and… oh never mind, I'm being such a snitch…" Reeve muttered miserably after a frantic explanation.

"What did you do to Reno?" Rufus asked.

"Heidegger suspended him." Reeve explained.

"He can't suspend him! We wouldn't be able to practice without the drummer!" Rufus snapped impatiently.

Reeve's eyes grew wide. "Drummer?" he asked.

"Oh, so you also can't believe that we've started a band?" Rufus asked with a sarcastic smile and tone on his face.

Reeve just smiled sheepishly. "We thought that Reno was just drunk and was blabbing nonsense…" he said.

"You stupid imbecile!" Rufus yelled impatiently.

Tifa moved her hand and groaned softly. Rufus turned to her, realizing that his voice was too loud that he had disturbed her. "Shit," he thought silently before turning back to Reeve with a look that told him, "I'll talk to you tomorrow in the office."

Reeve hesitated for a moment before speaking up again, "Eh… sir, I'd like to ask you a question…"

"What?" Rufus asked with an impatient tone.

Reeve moved closer to Rufus and whispered, "Did you _do it with her?"_

Rufus's eyes widened as he blushed slightly, looking at Reeve with a look of disbelief on his face.

Reeve proceeded, "Reno also mentioned that you rented the @#$% Room so that you and Miss Lockheart could rendezvous, while he and the others got some hookers and rented the Group Room."

"What the bloody hell is the matter with you?!" Rufus yelled angrily, his voice echoing all over the bedroom where he placed Tifa after taking her out of the infirmary for treatment.

Tifa was glaring unbelievably at Rufus.

"I'll… I'll just go. Good night, sir." Reeve said with a weak smile on his face before rushing out of the room.

Rufus was breathing hard because of too much rage. "Oafs!" he muttered before turning his gaze back to Tifa, whom he had expected to still be sleeping, but his frown disappeared and he calmed down a bit when he saw her wide awake; her crimson eyes were wide in awe as she stared up at him unbelievably. "Oh, thank the bloody heavens, you're awake. So, how are you feeling?" he asked casually, moving closer to her.

Tifa didn't know how to answer. "I… I… I think I'm… I'm alright…" she told him nervously with a weak smile on her face.

He did not smile, which scared her. "You want something? Food or drink or anything? Just tell me," he told her before flipping his hair.

"Uhm… no thanks…" she told him hesitantly.

"You're pale. You need to eat something. I'll call Elena." He got up, as if ignoring what she had just told him. "You want Wutaian or Midgarian or whatever cuisine?" he asked with a stiff look on his face, also realizing that he was also hungry.

"N…no, never mind. It's late." She replied.

Rufus got his mobile phone and began to call someone.

Tifa watched quietly while thinking silently, "Does he ever listen?"

Rufus spoke up when someone answered, "Chicken soup, mango juice, water and croissant. Also bring some red wine in here. The room beside mine. That's all and hurry up." And hung up.

"Wine?" Tifa asked mindlessly.

Rufus placed his mobile phone on top of the bedside table. "You know, your little boyfriend and I plus some of our _fiends… I mean, _friends_… we were supposed to be celebrating tonight because we just formed a band and tomorrow, we'll start practicing." He told her before he sat down again on the couch beside the bed._

She swallowed hard, "Oh so you mean I messed it all up?" she asked frankly.

"Oh, so you're not stupid after all. I think your little boyfriend is already in a bar drinking the night away with Sephiroth and the others, while I'm stuck here taking care of you." Rufus said before flipping his hair with an arrogant look on his face.

Tifa twitched. "Will you stop referring to Cloud as my little boyfriend?" she asked impatiently.

"What do you want me to call him? Big boyfriend? I'm definitely taller than him," he told her casually.

"No, I mean… he's not even my boyfriend. He's just a friend." She pointed out clearly.

"How come?" he asked mindlessly.

"Because I don't like him as a boyfriend," She said, feeling irritated by his stubbornness and arrogance.

He laughed at her.

She wanted to shrink. "Oh man… Cloud, Vincent, where are you? How could you be friends with this horrible man!?" she thought silently as she stared up hopelessly at the ceiling.

Rufus stopped laughing when a Soldier entered with a tray of food. Everything Rufus had ordered was there. The Soldier placed the tray on top of the bedside table and then saluted at Rufus before leaving.

"So I'm just going to celebrate here by drinking this fine red wine that I bought from Costa del Sol two years ago." Rufus told her before getting the bottle and poured some of the contents in the goblet. He began to drink and after finishing half of the contents, he put the goblet down on the tray and went back to Tifa, offering his hand to her. "Sit up and eat." He told her with a rather commanding tone.

She did not want to start an argument with him, so she just placed her trembling hand on his and he tightened his grip around hers, assisting her to sit down.

"Thank you," she said softly.

He did not say anything, he just got the bowl and began to feed her.

"Feeling any pain?" he asked her, referring to her head.

"It just stings… that guy attempted to hit me with a damn mace with several sharp spikes. I dodged but some of those spikes eventually scraped my head very badly… and then I got so freaked out by the blood that I lost focus… and he punched the lights out of me." She explained.

"Yeah. Saw some bruises on your legs and on your tummy." He told her mindlessly.

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Wh…what?" she asked.

"We had to take off your clothes. They were very dirty, sweaty and bloody and dressed you up with that. I had Reeve rush out to the nearest department store immediately to buy you that." Rufus said with a slight smile on his face.

Tifa fell silent before examining the silk white sleepwear that was on her. "Who… changed my clothes?" she asked, suddenly blushing.

"I did." He replied mindlessly.

"WHAT?!" she demanded.

"Don't worry, I'm simply too refined to be a pervert," he told her with a proud look on his face.

She just stared unbelievably at him.

His face turned serious, "No malice, Tifa, don't worry." He told her reassuringly.

She still couldn't speak. She wanted to die.

Rufus still acted normally around her in his usual stiff and poised ways… and she felt like a damn peasant girl being taken care of by a prince.

She wanted to leave.

After eating, Rufus got up and proceeded to the door.

"W…wait!" Tifa called out, attempting to get out of the bed, but Rufus rushed back to her and held her back. "No, don't get out of bed. You need to rest." He told her.

"Bu…but… no one is going to stay here with me?" she asked nervously, thinking about the danger around her… especially since Scarlet could just be around the area and waiting for a chance to finally get rid of her without anyone knowing it.

"There are Soldiers outside roaming around the halls. I won't lock the door. I'm just in the other room." He told her as he gently laid her back.

She nodded quietly, avoiding his gaze.

With that, Rufus left her and went back to his own room, but he stopped when he saw that Cloud, Sephiroth and Vincent were all there.

"What the bloody hell are you all doing in here?" he demanded.

"Hey, nice of you to join us, Rufus!" Sephiroth greeted, raising up his glass to him.

Rufus shut the door and went to them, "You have your own rooms downstairs. Get out of here, I need to sleep," he scolded.

"C'mon, tell us a love story! We'd love to hear yours," Vincent said with a slurry tone.

"He's drunk," Rufus told Sephiroth.

"I know. I got them drunk to make them spill out some stuff about themselves." Sephiroth said.

Cloud frowned at Sephiroth upon hearing that. "You…" he began.

Rufus shook his head in disbelief.

"I thought Cloud doesn't want to drink?" Vincent asked, turning to Sephiroth.

"He just grabbed a bottle of vodka and gulped down the contents and went for a bottle of gin and then whiskey." Sephiroth explained.

Cloud was beginning to slow down as he got up and walked over to Rufus. "You know… I'm in-love with this very lovely girl… but she is in-love with somebody else! Hahahaha! Isn't that funny? I waited and grieved for her for so long and then that silver-haired man over there told me that she is already with that _somebody else! So right now, I'm so sad and all I want to do is do something else! Thank goodness, we formed a band! This could be my diversion for a goddamn broken heart, don't you think so, Rufus?" he asked with a slurry tone before he fell to the floor and just started to snore._

Rufus made a face before turning to Sephiroth, "Okay, what did you tell him?" he asked.

"I just told him a little white lie in exchange for him joining this band." Sephiroth explained.

"You told him that Zack is… oh bloody hell! Sephiroth, you know that isn't true?! She loves this disgusting guy snoring on my foot over here!" Rufus snapped impatiently.

"I know that, that's why we're taking advantage of the situation until she gets well and then meets him again!" Sephiroth pointed out.

Vincent was already too dizzy because of the booze that he immediately fell asleep.

"And I'll bet Reno's already like that too," Sephiroth told Rufus, referring to Vincent who was already asleep on the couch next to him.

"Get them out of my room, I need some sleep." Rufus commanded.

"I think you should guard Tifa in the next room. She's lonely and she doesn't have anyone there to protect her from horrible witches wearing a red dress! Mwahahahahahaha!" Sephiroth told him before laughing out loud.

Rufus just raised an eyebrow at him. "Tifa can take care of herself. I'll sleep now; it's already past midnight." He told him before entering the bathroom and then changing into his silk red pajamas.

Sephiroth just remained seated on the couch, finishing off his drink before he got up and stretched. When he got up, Vincent fell onto the couch sideways, his head landing on the spot where Sephiroth had once sat.

He frowned slightly before turning to Cloud, who was asleep on the floor.

Rufus came out from the bathroom after thirty minutes and Sephiroth could tell that the guy took a bath. "I thought I already told you to get those men out of here?" he told Sephiroth.

"Let them sleep. They won't harm you. Besides, look at them! They look so peaceful," Sephiroth said with a silly smile on his face.

"Yeah… whatever…" Rufus muttered miserably before flipping his hair and plopping down on his soft white bed. He sighed heavily, feeling the softness all around him which made him smile and relax a little. "Did you check on Aerith?" he asked.

"Not yet." Sephiroth told him before starting to drink again.

Rufus was quiet for a while before sitting up again with a grunt. "Gimme one of those, will you?" he asked.

Sephiroth turned to the bottles. "Which one?" he asked.

"Vodka." Rufus decided.

Sephiroth got the bottle and a glass to go with it. Rufus served himself and began to drink.

"I thought you were already sleepy?" Sephiroth asked.

Rufus gulped down half the contents of the glass first before turning to Sephiroth to speak up, "Got thoughts in my mind." He admitted.

"Oh?" Sephiroth asked in disbelief.

Rufus turned to the sleeping Cloud Strife on the floor and then turned away with a stiff look on his face before sighing and looking at his glass, shaking it carefully. "He must be very lucky." He said.

Sephiroth sat down on the bed. "And why?" he asked.

Rufus just shrugged and began to drink again before replying, "It makes me wonder if I'll ever find a girl like Aerith." He said.

"Goodness! Don't tell me you like her?" Sephiroth asked in awe.

"NO! I just don't know how to put my thoughts into words…" Rufus stammered.

Sephiroth smiled slyly, "I understand… in layman's terms, you're wondering if you will ever find a girlfriend who will love you so much that she'd risk everything just to be with you… just like what Aerith did. She loves that damn blonde guy sleeping on the floor over there that she almost got herself killed just going back here in the Planet and then taking us with her so that she would have some 'guides'. That's it, right?" he asked.

Rufus looked at Sephiroth with his usual poker-faced expression before smiling slightly. "Well, you definitely read my thoughts." He muttered.

Sephiroth laughed proudly. "Well, well, well! That's me! Smart as always. Mwahahahahahaha!" he said.

With that, Rufus finished his drink and pushed Sephiroth off his bed. "Outta here and say goodnight to your mommy. I have to sleep." He told him before covering himself with his blanket.

Sephiroth snorted. "I can't talk to her right now." He said with a somewhat disappointed look on his face.

Rufus removed his blanket. "And why not?" he asked curiously.

"She's still blaming herself and she feels so guilty about what happened, so she wanted to be left alone." Sephiroth told him.

"But did you tell her anything about him?" Rufus asked.

"Yes. She knows everything, but she is too ashamed to face him." Sephiroth replied before plopping down beside Rufus and sighing desperately. "You know something, Rufus?" he asked.

"What?" Rufus asked sleepily.

Sephiroth just looked up at the ceiling with a sleepy loon on his face.

Rufus slowly closed his eyes, slowly drifting off into sleep, just as Sephiroth replied sleepily, "We should let Vincent perform for our first single and let him dedicate it to her…"

He fell asleep.

****************************************************** 


	6. There are Certain Songs to Make You Cry

There Are Certain Songs to Make You Cry

            "President Rufus," Elena kept on knocking on his door, but no one would open it.

"You think something bad happened to him? He's not answering no matter what we do," Reno told her with a sleepy look on his face.

She shrugged. "You tell me," she said.

"I have his key here; hopefully he wouldn't mind us barging in because this is really urgent." Reno told her before getting the key and handing it to Rude.

Rude began to open the door. "I can't blame him if he's still asleep, after all, it's still 6:30 am. He usually wakes up at 7:00." He told his comrades.

"But this is very urgent!" Elena told them.

Rude finally pushed the door opened. The three froze upon seeing three other people inside the room: Cloud Strife sleeping soundly on the floor; Vincent Valentine on the couch, snoring; and Sephiroth sleeping beside Rufus… under the same blanket.

"Oh my God…" Elena gasped slightly.

Rude just looked away.

Reno stared unbelievably at Rufus and Sephiroth. "He _slept with Sephiroth?!" he said in disbelief._

"I'll pretend I didn't see anything…" Rude muttered.

Rufus is a light sleeper, and the noise caused by the Turks made him wake up. He sat up and flipped his hair. "What are you Turks doing in here so early?" he demanded with a sleepy tone… and his gaze traveled to the person sleeping beside him. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!" he jumped out of bed, his blue eyes wide in surprise.

"P…President Rufus, are you alright?" Elena asked, eyeing Sephiroth, then Rufus.

Rufus frowned miserably before raking his fingers through his hair. "It's not what you think, okay? We just… had a few drinks and he's too sleepy to go back to his own room," he explained with a stiff look on his face before looking at Vincent and Cloud, who were still asleep.

"President Rufus, we have… bad news," Elena began again.

"What is it?" he asked, finally wide awake now.

"Well… it's Miss Lockheart… she…"

Rufus's eyes widened. "What about her?" he asked, but still managing to hide his worry behind the frown on his face and the fierce look in his eyes.

"She's gone." Rude pointed out.

No one could speak, not knowing what to say or how to react. All they could hear was the sound of Vincent's snoring.

"What do you mean _gone_?" Rufus asked, breaking the silence.

"Well… I went to check on her thirty minutes ago but she's not in her room anymore…" Elena began.

Reno snickered. "Heheh… I even thought that you let her sleep here in your room." He told him.

Rufus didn't move.

Reno just cleared his throat and turned away, realizing that it was a serious matter and does not deserve to be made fun of. "Uhm… sorry," he muttered with a sheepish look on his face.

Rufus rushed out of his room and went over to Tifa's room, scanning the whole area. "Where do you think she went to?" he heard Elena asking Reno.

"I dunno… or maybe Scarlet did something to her. You know how she hates Tifa." Reno muttered.

"But I was with Scarlet, Heidegger and Reeve the whole evening until dawn after attending to Miss Lockheart. I escorted them around Reactor Number 4. I wasn't even able to sleep yet," she explained.

"Didn't she leave a note or something?" Rufus thought silently, looking at the bedside table, and then saw his mobile phone. He realized that he left it there last night. He walked over to the bedside table and got it, checking if maybe she touched it or something… and it was in the _Write Messages. Viewed it and instead of a blank screen, he saw a message typed there: "I can't stay; I have to go back to my friends. I just came over to make sure that Cloud is okay. Thank you."_

He stiffened. 

The second to the last line kept on whirling in his head _"I just came over to make sure that Cloud is okay." He deleted everything and threw his phone on the bed in an angry gesture. He rushed out of the room, making the Turks wonder what happened._

He kept on walking, using the stairs to go to a certain room… and upon arriving there, he had this bitter look on his face as he stared at her… like he wanted to cry upon not being able to get something he would really like to have.

He approached her, but she was still asleep. He knelt down beside her bed, took her hand and squeezed it gently. He rested his head on the bed with a blank look on his face. "Help me…" he whispered softly.

***

_Her eyes are green_

_And they look mean_

_And it may seem_

_That she cries_

_It looks like a stream…_

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! That sounds stupid! Why don't you change it?" Rufus snapped impatiently.

"What?" Sephiroth asked.

"The lyrics sounds stupid," Rufus muttered.

"Her eyes are green! Just like mine," Sephiroth pointed out.

"And how would you know?" Reno asked.

"Because she's my mother!" Sephiroth said airily.

"Look, why don't we just wake the guy up? It's supposed to be his song; let him write it," Cloud told them.

They just stared at the sleeping Vincent Valentine who had collapsed on the couch inside the music room.

Sephiroth grabbed the acoustic guitar. "This is his instrument, shall we use it to wake him up?" he asked.

"No, let the poor man sleep. He had too much of booze last night he's got a nasty hang-over." Reno told them.

"Don't you get hang-overs?" Rufus asked curiously.

"Got used to it." Reno replied with a proud smile on his face.

Cloud's face lit up before declaring, "What about this: _Her eyes are green, they may look mean; she looks at me like… like…" he stammered._

"I don't think her eyes look really mean." Rufus told them solemnly.

"Wait a minute, is this supposed to sound sentimental?" Cloud asked.

"We'll still make it sound like it's rock or alternative… but the lyrics is sentimental." Sephiroth pointed out.

Reno looked at the lyrics written with Sephiroth's handwriting on a sheet of yellow paper. "If we're going to write this song, we really need to wake him up." He told them.

"Why? Can't we do it without Hang-over Boy?" Sephiroth asked.

"Eh… I don't know… but I think it will really sound good with the right emotions placed with it. He's the one who experienced the heartache with that girl, so let him write it." Reno pointed out.

Silence.

"You know, I never knew that this Turk can think like that," Cloud told Rufus.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Reno demanded.

Cloud turned back to him, "Not really. I just thought that you're the most unpleasant from your fellow Turks." He explained with a serious look on his face.

Silence.

"Okay, let's just proceed with this so that I can finally go back to my office and do some paperwork." Rufus told them before he snatched the paper from Reno's grasp.

"I thought I just pointed out that Vincent's supposed to write it?" Reno asked.

"Whoa… what happened to the _President Rufus salutation?!" Sephiroth asked in awe, turning to Rufus upon noticing the disrespect._

"This is out of the office. You know what I mean." Rufus muttered miserably before speaking up again, "Now, all we have to do is to pretend that we're Vincent." He told them.

"That's gonna be hard," Sephiroth said with a joking tone, looking at his left hand.

"I didn't mean, _be like him_ with the claw and all. Just pretend that we're in his situation," he told them.

"I haven't really experienced that." Sephiroth pointed out.

"I don't really care," Reno snorted.

Cloud was just quiet.

Rufus thought for a while before he crossed out Sephiroth's lyrics and then replaced it with his own. While waiting for Rufus to finish, Cloud and Sephiroth were already beginning to compose some tunes on their guitars, while Reno fiddled with the drumsticks, twirling each in his hands.

Finally, after less than 20 minutes, Rufus finally handed the lyrics to Sephiroth.

"Oh, so you're the one who experienced heartbreak that is similar to Vincent? I don't even think that you've had a girlfriend before or a girl existed in your life during the past," Sephiroth teased before proceeding to read the lyrics out loud for the others to hear:

_Please don't listen to what I'm saying_

_I'm not telling the truth._

_Please don't take me seriously,_

_Everything is a joke._

_Instead, look into my eyes,_

_And you will see no lies._

_Everything's in there._

_You and your lovely eyes_

_So beautiful like wine_

_Dreaming of you makes me sigh_

_And I ask the heavens _

_Why_

_Why can't I make you think of me_

_Not even for once?_

_Why can't I make you decide to love me_

_When he cannot love you back?_

_But if you'll love me,_

_Just look into my eyes._

_Don't search for a pure heart in me;_

_I have a dangerous one._

_Please don't gaze into my smile_

_I don't want it to mock you._

_Don't believe I've no respect for you_

_Because behind everything is the truth._

_But if you'll love me,_

_Just look into my eyes._

_Don't search for pure love in me;_

_I only have this black heart._

Everyone was quiet.

"Whoa." Reno remarked.

"Is that you, Rufus?" Cloud asked, examining Rufus's face.

Rufus just got up. "I'd better get back to work." He told them before leaving the room with a tired look on his face.

Sephiroth waited for Rufus to close the door before declaring, "It doesn't sound like Vincent; it sounds like him."

"I don't think Lucrecia has eyes like wine…" Reno told them.

"What happened to him anyway? It's like he's not himself ever since this morning during breakfast." Cloud told him.

"You know what happened," Sephiroth pointed out.

"Well… based on what I've heard, three things happened this morning: Tifa must've gone back to Kalm; ShinRa has a new affiliate, a water company from Wutai; and Vincent still has a hang-over." Cloud cited.

They were silent.

"For sure he wouldn't feel bothered just because of the new affiliate and the hang-over and Tifa going back to Kalm." Cloud told them.

"Why did that girl come to Midgar?" Sephiroth asked before getting the acoustic guitar.

"She wants to make sure that Cloud is okay," Vincent pointed out, finally awake. He yawned and sat up on the couch with a sleepy look on his face.

"Good afternoon, Vincent," Sephiroth greeted.

"What's going on?" Vincent asked before getting up and approaching them.

"Rufus wrote this disturbing song." Sephiroth replied before handing the yellow sheet to him.

He began to read it silently. "I think it's nice…" he said with a slight smile on his face. "What made him write this anyway?" he asked before handing the paper back to Sephiroth.

"We're waiting for you to wake up so that you could write the first song, but we knew you really had to rest to he suggested that we just pretend to be you and write the song for you… and then it ended up that way." Sephiroth explained.

"Well it doesn't sound anything like me," Vincent told them.

"We know," Cloud said.

"Well, where's Rufus?" Vincent asked.

"He's back in his office. He looks disappointed all of a sudden." Reno explained.

They all fell silent.

Sephiroth just began to look at the lyrics and then tried to put a tune on it. He also began to sing a little of it while playing the tune, but he stopped. "I think the piano sounds better as an intro, and then going to the second verse, that's when we start playing the strings and then percussion." He told them.

"Well then go upstairs and get the keyboardist." Cloud pointed out.

"If we can persuade him." Reno said.

"Why?" Cloud asked.

"If President Rufus is busy, he's usually cranky… and it will just ruin our day if we tell him to come down here and join us with our music." Reno told them with a silly smile on his face.

"Heheh… yeah. He's worse than a woman with PMS." Sephiroth told them before he handed the acoustic guitar to Vincent. "So we'll just have to let Vinny here do his song." He said with a sly smile on his face.

"You mean… right now?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah." He replied.

Vincent hesitated for a while before finally getting the guitar. "I don't really have lyrics in mind right now… except for this one… but it's not an original. I just heard it somewhere." He told them.

"Well, let's hear it." Reno urged.

Vincent began to strum.

_I'm dressed all in blue_

_And I'm rememberin' you_

_And the dress you wore_

_When you broke my heart.___

_I'm depressed upstairs_

_And I'm rememberin' where_

_And when and how and why_

_You have to go so far…_

_Am I gonna be lonely for the rest of my life?_

_Am I gonna be lonely for the rest of my life?_

_I'm gonna be lonely for the rest of my life unless you come around._

_So come around…_

_I'm dressed all in white_

_And I remember the night_

_You came on to me_

_And opened up my heart.___

_I was hollow then,_

_'Til you filled my in;_

_Now, I'm empty again._

_I should've never let it start._

_Am I gonna be lonely for the rest of my life?_

_Am I gonna be lonely for the rest of my life?_

_I'm gonna be lonely for the rest of my life unless you come around._

_So come around…_

_No one else could fix me_

_Although sometimes my heart tricks me into thinking someone else will do;_

_But you are the only one._

_You are the only one…_

_Am I gonna be lonely for the rest of my life?_

_Am I gonna be lonely for the rest of my life?_

_I'm gonna be lonely for the rest of my life unless you come around._

_So come around…_

_So come around…_

_I'm dressed all in blue,_

_And I'm remembering you_

_And the dress you wore_

_When you broke my heart…_

They were all silent for a few seconds before Reno applauded with a sly smile on his face. "Very good!" he cheered.

Vincent didn't smile; he avoided his band-mates' gaze on him as he put the guitar down.

"What about you, Cloud?" Vincent asked.

Cloud was just quiet.

"I'm sure you also want to sing something," Vincent told him.

Cloud got the guitar and began to play, and then sang rather weakly:

_Livin__' my life, thinking of you everyday;_

_Hopin__' next time that we meet, you'd stay._

_No matter how much I try,_

_You still make me cry…_

And he stopped.

"Never mind. That's just the chorus. I forgot the rest of the words." He muttered miserably before putting the guitar down.

"Is that even an original?" Sephiroth asked.

"No. I just heard it somewhere before." Cloud told him before leaning back against the wall. "But I can relate to it…" he thought silently, looking away from them.

They were all silent for a few seconds.

"Well, let's start writing our own songs, shall we?" Sephiroth urged.

"Whatever." Cloud and Vincent both said in unison.

"Great… two of our bandmates here are gonna be sentimental boys…" Reno whispered to Sephiroth.

"Well at least Rufus is still on the angsty side of love." Sephiroth whispered back.

"You know, if you'd like to talk about me, you can do it someplace else instead of in front of me," Cloud told them with a mocking look on his face.

"Hey, hey, hey, you sure became cranky after that short song of yours." Reno told him.

"It's just the chorus, Reno." Cloud muttered before standing up. "Why the hell did I even agree to work with you people?" he muttered miserably.

"Remember our deal, Cloud? You work with us and I'll talk to Aerith for you." Sephiroth told him.

Cloud rolled his eyes before turning away. "How many songs before you can do that?" he asked.

"Depends." Sephiroth told him.

"This is blackmail." Cloud pointed out.

"It won't be blackmail if you love what you're doing. C'mon, you're the one who told us that you don't have anything better to do with your life so you're looking for work. And here you go! We gave you work!" Sephiroth said.

"I was thinking _First Class Soldier_ work, not playing guitars and singing senseless love ballads!" Cloud snapped impatiently.

"Well then sing something different!" Sephiroth told him.

"Okay! Fine! If that's what you want to hear!" Cloud said, stomping his foot before picking up the electric guitar and then started to play and sing with an angry voice:

_My name is Cloud Strife_

_I have no life_

_I have no wife_

_As of now.___

_Because some jerk_

_With long black hair_

_Took her away_

_In a month of May_

_Where spring's in the air_

_But in my life_

_It's always winter, yeah!_

_Clouds are over my head_

_Pourin__' snow all over my head.___

_Drowning me in its coldest wind_

_Engraving anger in frozen tears.___

_My name is Cloud Strife_

_I'm full of strife._

_Yeah, that's me!_

_As of now,_

_My life's a livin' hell_

_Coz of the clouds_

_Over my head_

_They're cloudin' my brain_

_And love's so distant_

_Here in my life._

_Everything is shit, yeah!_

_Clouds are over my head_

_Freezing everything in my brain_

_The coldness is drivin' me insane_

_Putting angst in frozen tears_

_To be with me all these years.___

_All these years, yeah…___

_Be with me all these years…_

_All these years… yeah…_

_Cloud are__ over my head…_

The three were stunned.

Cloud was panting and he was sweating.

"Were you talking about Zack?" Sephiroth asked.

"HELL, NO!" Cloud cried out in denial with a hurtful look on his face before putting down the guitar and walking out of the room.

The three jerked when he slammed the door shut.

"Uh… I'll take that as sarcasm," Sephiroth said with wide eyes.

"What's wrong with him?" Reno asked, calming down a bit.

"I don't know…" Sephiroth said with an innocent look on his face.

"Okay, Sephiroth, what did you tell him?" Vincent asked with a serious look on his face while eyeing Sephiroth suspiciously.

Sephiroth moved closer to the two. "I just told him that his dead girlfriend is back with her old flame in the Lifestream." He explained.

"You know that isn't true," Reno told him.

"Of course. His girlfriend's in one of the rooms within this building unconscious and regaining strength." Sephiroth pointed out.

Vincent's eyes grew wide. "Wh…what?" he asked in disbelief.

"You heard me right; Aerith is here." Sephiroth told him.

Vincent wasn't able to speak, hardly believing the two.

"But don't tell Cloud about it. She's the reason why Rufus and I are back here. She wanted to take us with her for a so-called _second chance. She's such a good girl, you know?" Sephiroth explained with a slight smile on his face._

"But… why not tell Cloud? The poor guy's been brooding over the girl's death all these years… and you just shattered his dreams by telling him that Aerith is back with Zack?! How could you do that?" Vincent asked with a shocked look on his face, surprising both Sephiroth and Reno.

"Because Rufus and I would like to make sure that Aerith is well enough to meet with Cloud. If he sees her right now, he might expect her to get well soon, but what if fate plays with her again and takes her away from us? We're avoiding further sadness here, you know?" Sephiroth explained with a frown on his face.

Vincent fell silent, trying to comprehend everything that Sephiroth had just mentioned. He just bowed down his head.

"Where is Zack anyway?" Reno asked out of the blue.

"I don't know… didn't see him in the Lifestream." Sephiroth replied.

Vincent looked up at Sephiroth. "Can I see Aerith?"

            "Ya foo'! Are you sayin' that Cloud joined Rufus, Sephiroth and that redhead Booze-boy and then Vincent chimed in too?!" Barret demanded.

Tifa nodded. "Yeah…" she said with a weak tone before touching her head.

"Sephiroth is alive too?!" Barret demanded.

Tifa just nodded weakly.

"Man… I think there's a possibility that there could be two Antichrists…" Barret muttered miserably.

"What happened to you, Tifa?" Marlene asked with a sad look on her face as she sat down beside Tifa.

"Been in an accident…" Tifa explained weakly, adjusting the bandage.

"Didn't Cloud save you?" Marlene asked.

"He did, but basically, it was Rufus who saved me," Tifa said with a tired smile on her face.

Barret helped her up. "I think you'd better rest for a while in your room. Why'd you leave ShinRa immediately? They could've taken care of you even more in that condition of yours if you didn't leave sooner!" he scolded.

"I'm uncomfortable there… even with Cloud and Vincent around…" Tifa replied, bowing down her head.

"Foo'… it's Scarlet, right? That damn whore's still botherin' ya?" Barret asked.

"It's just one of the factors. Then there's Heidegger and Palmer and then Hojo…" Tifa began.

"Hojo? I thought Hojo's dead?" Barret asked.

Tifa frowned slightly. "You're right…" she said, giving it a thought. Then, she looked up at Barret again. "Then who's the person who treated me last night?" she asked.

"Well, how should I know? I wasn't there," Barret said with a ridiculous look on his face.

Tifa thought for a while, trying to remember the doctor's face, but she couldn't. Her vision was all blurry when she tried to see who it was… but she could make out a mahogany-haired woman with her hair tied up in a high ponytail. She had green eyes that seemed to glow strangely like Sephiroth's and she was in all white. She even remembered hearing Rufus mention, "Doctor Valentine".

"Oh never mind… let's just put you back in your room so that you could rest." Barret told her as he guided her up the stairs.

            Rufus looked up from his paperwork, gazing at Cloud who was standing in front of his desk. "What do you want?" he demanded.

Cloud sat down on the couch facing Rufus's desk. "I'd like to tell you something that I can't really tell the others," he began with a hesitant tone.

"Why me?" Rufus asked, frowning with a disgusted look on his face.

"Because judging from your song, I think you're a serious person and the seriousness of the emotions in your song is as serious as mine." Cloud explained.

Rufus looked away for a while, feeling confused.

Cloud noticed that he had confused Rufus, so he spoke up again to clear things out, "Sephiroth just seems to be out of character, Vincent already has too many problems and I don't want to add things to his list, while Reno is… he's just not my cup of tea."

Rufus turned back to Cloud with a cold look in his eyes. "Don't mind Sephiroth; he's just crazy." He muttered before setting aside the paperwork for a while and then putting his hands on the table as he leaned back on his seat. "So, what is it that you want to tell me?" he asked, finally giving in.

Cloud was quiet for a few seconds before replying, "Why did you write that song?" he asked.

Silence.

"Is it for someone?" Cloud asked.

"Is there anything going on between you and Tifa?" Rufus asked directly with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Cloud looked away, muttering, "Not again…" and then turned back to Rufus with a calm smile on his face. "No." he said simply.

"Did anything went on between you and Tifa before?" Rufus asked with a look that seemed to pierce through Cloud's eyes.

It made Cloud frown. "We made it clear to each other that it's not really going to work out… She thought she loved me, but then realizing something else, she decided whole-heartedly that she didn't really care that much… and I… I realized how special Aerith is. Tifa and I are just like brother and sister right now." He explained.

Rufus just kept quiet.

"Why? You're jealous or something?" Cloud asked with a teasing tone.

Rufus frowned at him. "Okay, what's the problem again? Why did you come here? I'm sure it's not about Tifa," he said, trying to change the subject.

Cloud thought for a while, realizing that Rufus isn't really the type of person to spill out his thoughts on a former enemy. "Heck, he's also a former enemy… so why am I talking to him too?" he thought silently.

And then in a snap, he realized something.

So he proceeded, "You know Aerith, right?"

Rufus stiffened a little, thinking quietly, "Here we go again…" before replying, "Yes. We were friends in the Lifestream before I came back here." He explained.

"Is she okay?" Cloud asked.

"Poor guy…" Rufus thought mindlessly before replying, "The last time I saw her, she was happy."

Cloud bowed down his head. "Probably happy because she's with Zack now…" he thought silently before looking at Rufus again with a slight smile on his face. "I miss her," he admitted.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Oh no… please don't get sentimental here…" he thought silently.

Cloud looked away for a while, eyeing the sleeping Dark Nation on one corner of the office. "I'm sorry if I had to tell you this, but it's driving me crazy! Tifa once told me that I should let out my thoughts once in a while so that it wouldn't bother me… so I'm doing this right now because I want to trust you since you're one of the most decent people around here besides Vincent." He said.

"I can refer you to a psychologist, if you want to." Rufus began.

"I don't need a damn psychologist, Rufus." Cloud told him, turning back to him with a hurtful look on his face. He already has tears in his eyes but they wouldn't fall.

Rufus stared unbelievably at him, raising an eyebrow. 

Cloud smiled bitterly. "I need you." He said.

Rufus's eyes grew wide in shock. "Bloody hell! What?!" he demanded.

"Just kidding," Cloud told him before laughing out loud.

Rufus felt a nerve twitching on his head. "What the… ARE YOU EVEN SERIOUS?!" he demanded angrily, making Cloud stop laughing.

"You see what I mean? It's driving me crazy! I hide my sorrow behind laughter so I just snap and kid around once in a while to make myself feel better!" Cloud pointed out.

His tears finally fell.

Rufus got up from his seat and went over to Cloud, sitting down beside him. "You really need to talk to someone." Rufus told him.

"I just told you that a while ago," Cloud muttered, wiping his tears away. He felt so pathetic.

Rufus laughed mockingly at him. "Gods, you look miserable. Here, wipe that disgusting snot off your face and let's just go down to Sector 1 and have some tea in one of the finest coffee shops there." He told him before handing him a white handkerchief.

As they were walking to the garage to take Rufus's car, Cloud could notice the uneasiness in his new friend's face. "You know, you really need to speak out your thoughts once in a while or else you'll end up just like me," he warned him.

Rufus laughed sarcastically. "I'd like to hear Tifa tell that to me personally," he said mindlessly before unlocking the doors of the vehicle.

"Aha! You like Tifa, don't you?" Cloud snapped at him, surprising him all of a sudden.

"No, I don't. It was sarcasm." Rufus denied.

Cloud laughed at him. "Well, well, well, so that song was about jealousy over a guy whom you thought is the boyfriend of your beloved, huh?" he teased.

"Shut up, Strife." Rufus muttered, his eyebrow twitching.

"Yeah, whatever," Cloud said, trying to stifle his own laughter before getting inside the car.

After Rufus had started the engine, he snapped at Cloud again, "Will you stop that?"

"Stop what?" Cloud asked with an innocent smile on his face.

"You're laughing at me," Rufus told him.

"I'm not." Cloud pointed out.

"Liar." Rufus muttered before he stepped on the pedal.

They began to move.

"You too." Cloud said.

"Why would I even be a liar?" Rufus asked.

"You like Tifa."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do." Cloud mumbled.

"Shut up, Strife." Rufus muttered miserably.

"Okay, I'll shut up." Cloud said finally, looking away, knowing that if he went on further, he might anger Rufus and might make him crash the car through a post or something… and sudden death inside a car isn't really Cloud's idea of dying.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WAAAAH! To be continued…. 

Author's Note: The song that Vinny sang here is by Rhett Miller and is entitled "Come Around". The chorus that Cloud sang was from the song "Livin' My Life" by The Introvoys; while the second one with the line, "My name is Cloud Strife blah blah…" is entitled "_Clouds Over My Head"… it's an original. Rufus's song is entitled, "_Please Don't_". It's also an original composed by one of my friends._


	7. A Few Problems

A Few Problems

            "Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! Why didn't I notice the time passing?" Rufus scolded himself angrily as he continued to sign papers.

He couldn't believe that he had spent almost the whole day playing the piano and writing songs, and he had completely forgotten that he has a deadline to beat regarding the papers that he needs to give to the Water Company in Wutai.

Dark Nation was watching him quietly for a few hours, just sitting in one corner and staring strangely at him.

"Go someplace else first, Dark Nation. I'm busy. If you want food, you can go to the others and bother them." He said.

With that, the panther got up on its four feet and walked out of his office.

            Cloud was just in the music room, alone with Red XIII who was asleep on the floor beside him as he continued to play the guitar.

"Meowrrr," Dark Nation entered, surprising Cloud.

He turned to look at the big panther and frowned slightly. "Hey, what are you doing here, girl? Rufus is upstairs in his office." He explained to it.

Red XIII woke up and yawned, sensing the presence of another animal inside the room. "Oh… what is she doing here?" he asked.

"I don't know." Cloud replied before carefully motioning for the big panther to come closer to him. "Hopefully it won't bite me the way it did before," he thought silently.

Dark Nation approached Cloud and rubbed her head against his hand. Cloud smiled slightly and patted her head, making her purr happily.

"Well… she seems nicer now," he declared.

Red XIII turned away from them, turning his gaze to the window. He noticed that the sun was already setting and the room was already beginning to get darker each minute.

"Hey, Cloud, you've been here ever since this morning. Don't you think you need a break?" he asked.

Cloud ignored Red XIII while thinking, "It doesn't matter." He motioned for Dark Nation to sit beside Red XIII. The panther obeyed.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Red XIII demanded from Cloud.

"Maybe she needs a mate." Cloud teased before he continued to play the guitar.

"Meowr," Dark Nation glared nastily at Red XIII.

"Uhm… Cloud, I don't think she likes me," Red XIII replied with a nervous tone.

"It's just a female cat; don't get your fleas panicking around the place," Cloud said, his gaze on the strings of the electric guitar as he strummed carefully while reading the lyrics on one of the pieces of paper scattered around him:

_Evening rolls in and I'm still lonely._

_Don't wanna be like this._

_She haunts my daydreams during the day_

_But I just kill every thought_

_Just to my dismay._

_She comes to me in a disguise;_

_A soft gentle wind mocking me.___

_She taunts my nightmares during the night_

_But I just kill my emotions_

_Just to my dismay._

_But after all these many years_

_I still remember_

_The laugh, the dance, the eyes.___

_And so I'm here tonight singing to her this tune._

_This is for those times._

_This is for those nights._

_Endless nights of lovin'_

_Now they're all made of cryin'._

_This is for the girl,_

_The girl who gave me the capacity to feel_

_Sorrow and sadness and emptiness and loneliness.___

_But within those things,_

_This is for Aerith…_

The lights switched on, surprising him and making him stop playing. He turned his gaze to the door and saw a woman wearing a black blouse underneath a white laboratory coat, plus a white skirt. She was wearing heeled white boots, making her look taller than she already is without them.

Cloud's eyes were wide in awe as he stared back at her glowing green eyes. She has this motherly smile on her face as she gazed back at him. "It's bad to read in a dimly-lit room, young man." She said with a gentle but scolding tone before she stepped out of the room. "Nice song you're making there. I'll buy your album once it's out." She said with a wink before leaving.

Cloud just sat there, unable to move while trying to remember her features and then comparing her to another person whom he had seen before. "She resembles so much of Sephiroth and…" he stopped his thoughts when Vincent entered with some papers on his grasp.

"Did you see a woman pass by?" Cloud asked him curiously before putting down the guitar and the standing up.

Vincent thought for a while, "Scarlet?" he asked.

"No… she…" Cloud trailed off, "…never mind. What's that?" he asked, wanting to change the subject. He stopped himself from saying, "She looks like Lucrecia,"

Vincent handed him the papers. "Contracts." He said.

Cloud raised his eyebrows at him. "Contracts?"

"ShinRa Records." Vincent said with a slight smile on his face.

Cloud began to read the contents and saw that there are five contracts. Sephiroth, Vincent and Reno had already signed on their own; he and Rufus are the only ones who hasn't signed yet.

"ShinRa Records? When did this emerge?" Cloud asked with a ridiculous look on his face before proceeding to the table. He got a pen and signed on his contract.

"Just yesterday. Rufus left Reeve to be in charge of it." Vincent explained.

Cloud thought for a while, rereading the contract before handing it back to Vincent. "I never realized it's been five months ever since we formed this band." He said.

Silence.

"What's the name of our band, anyway?" Cloud continued.

Vincent froze when he realized that he doesn't even know it too. "I… I don't really know." He said.

Cloud frowned and made a face. "Great. We've been writing a lot of songs and practicing them, but then we don't have a name."

"And we're supposed to be recording tomorrow." Vincent said with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"Tomorrow?! But…" Cloud stammered.

"Let's just go to Rufus and then call on Sephiroth and Reno so that we could all discuss our name." Vincent told him before leading the way.

Red XIII and Dark Nation were left inside the room.

"I can't believe they left us here…" Red XIII muttered miserably.

"Meowrrr…" Dark Nation purred happily as she nuzzled her head against Red XIII's neck.

"Stop that, please, madame," Red XIII said with a glum look on his face.

"Meowrrr," Dark Nation replied before biting his neck.

"OW!!!!!" Red XIII cried out.

            "I was listening to him and the song sounded good."

The young woman just smiled weakly.

"And as usual, he dedicated it to you." She replied with a teasing smile before brushing off the loose strands of brown hair off the young woman's face.

The young woman looked up at her with a tired smile on her face. "I feel so guilty for making him miserable…" she said softly.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault that you were taken away from him. You can't change the way fate plays with us. The least you can do right now is to rest so that the sooner you get well, the better for all of us here." 

"Lucrecia," the young woman began.

"Hmm?"

"How am I doing?"

Lucrecia smiled sweetly. "With my continuous treatment, you'll be up in no time. Maybe in 2 months from now, you can already get out of bed, but you still might have a hard time walking so we'll have to put you in a wheelchair." She explained.

"A wheelchair?" the young woman asked with a disappointed look on her face.

"Don't worry, we're all here to take care of you and make sure that you get well real quick! Sephiroth, Rufus and I really owe you a lot for taking us back with you." Lucrecia explained before she gently patted Aerith's head. "At least you don't really need an oxygen tank right now," she said.

Aerith smiled wearily.

"You sleep now, dear Aerith," Lucrecia told her.

Aerith slowly closed her eyes, and in no time, she was already asleep.

Lucrecia smiled bitterly before she proceeded outside the room. She wiped her tears away as she leaned back against the door. "I can't tell her, Sephiroth," she whispered.

Sephiroth just looked at his mother with a solemn look on his face.

She looked up at her son and smiled bitterly at him. "I don't know what to do anymore…" she said.

He embraced his mother tightly. He knew what was going on, but he couldn't understand why. Aerith is slowly wasting away, and the only solution that could save her is by injecting JENOVA Cells into her body. Lucrecia is just trying her best to keep Aerith alive by injecting a special life-giving formula into her bloodstream three times a day. She made that formula especially for Aerith, but she is not even sure if it is really doing a lot for Aerith. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's my fault…" he said.

Lucrecia looked up at him.

He smiled bitterly. "If I didn't… if I didn't kill her before, this wouldn't have happened." He wanted to say out loud, but couldn't. He felt so ashamed of himself.

But his mother was able to read his thoughts through the look in his eyes. "Oh, Sephiroth, don't say that. You were not in your correct state of mind; you didn't know what you were doing. It's understandable." She said softly.

"But mom… maybe secretly people are blaming me! Cloud, Rufus, Vincent…everyone! I'm sick of having to walk around the streets of Midgar and everywhere I go, people give me a look like I'm a criminal and I'm the meanest person on earth! You know I didn't really mean everything that I did before! I was just so… so angry at everything and… I couldn't even understand why and…"

She frowned slightly, realizing that her son was beginning to have another breakdown. "He's still emotionally unstable," she thought silently before guiding him to the laboratory. 

            "Where is Sephiroth? I don't have the time to wait for him anymore, I have to finish these papers," Rufus snapped impatiently as he stomped his foot and crossed his arms. He was still seated on his office chair, while the others were on the couch facing his desk.

His companions were silent.

Rufus pressed one of the intercom buttons and spoke up, "Doctor, is Sephiroth in there?"

After a while, a woman's voice responded, "Yes, President Rufus. I'm afraid he's… rather unstable right now and I just sedated him to make him relax after giving him tranquilizers."

Vincent's eyes slightly widened and he felt his heart jump upon hearing the voice, but he just kept quiet.

"Why? What happened?" Rufus asked.

"Sir, we need to really use JENOVA Cells or else she's going to die." The Doctor replied with a trembling voice. Rufus and the others could tell that she was already crying.

"Isn't there any other way? It's too dangerous for her…" Rufus replied, and then turned his gaze to Cloud who was just staring into empty space like he doesn't care about anything else.

Reno was listening attentively to the conversation, while Vincent was staring at Rufus, his eyes asking him who the Doctor is.

But Rufus ignored him when the Doctor spoke up again, "I will… just… do the best that I can. She just needs more strength, that's all…" and then hung up.

"Who was that?" Vincent asked, standing up and going to Rufus.

"Our new head Scientist." Rufus replied before turning to the others with a stiff look on his face. "What about if we name our group Cloud's Garden?" he asked.

Silence.

"That's cheesy," Reno pointed out.

"Why my name?" Cloud protested with an annoyed look on his face.

"Just breaking the ice. You all seem so stiff tonight," Rufus told them.

"Look who's talking. Who was that anyway and what's the deal about JENOVA again? I haven't heard that name for some years already until that woman mentioned it." Cloud pointed out.

"It's… nothing. We're experimenting on mice and the effects of JENOVA on those." Rufus said.

Vincent knew what was really going on, but he doesn't know who the Doctor is. "I just hope that you don't create a mouse who will start acting like Sephiroth," he just kidded to make Cloud think of other things, knowing that they need to divert Cloud's attention away from the topic regarding JENOVA.

Cloud just looked away for a while, appearing to be thinking, and then turned back to Rufus. "Seventh Heaven." He told him with an impish smile on his face.

Rufus raised an eyebrow at him as he blushed slightly. "It's too girly." He said.

"Broken Nation?" Reno asked.

"Midgar Rejects?" Vincent chimed in.

"The Assholes Inc.!" Rufus said with a sarcastic tone.

Silence.

"Powerboyz!" Reno exclaimed.

Silence.

"Okay, that was stupid." Reno muttered miserably before snorting and turning away.

"Rufus's Harem." Cloud insulted.

Rufus twitched, "Cloud's Honeybee Inn." He responded.

"Uhm…" Vincent began to think.

They all turned to him unbelievably. "What?" Cloud asked him.

"Huh?" Vincent asked with a clueless look on his face.

"The Uhms?" Rufus asked him.

"I was thinking." Vincent cleared out, realizing what made them think of that.

"Oh." The three turned away from him.

"Light Within Darkness." Vincent pointed out.

Silence.

"What?" Rufus asked.

"Light Within Darkness." Vincent told them.

"Has a nice ring to it," Reno mentioned with a pleased look on his face.

"Yeah… come to think of it… but isn't it too long?" Rufus asked.

"There are bands with much longer names than that." Vincent said.

"Well… for added coolness points, some can refer to it as L.W.D." Reno suggested.

They all fell silent, thinking things through.

"Whatever." They all said in unison as they shrugged all at the same time.

========================================================== 

Author's note: The song sung by Cloud is entitled "This Is For Aerith". It's an original composed by one of my friends.


	8. Music for the Soul

Music for the Soul

            Cloud glanced at the clock. It read 3:00 pm. He had to admit, he really felt hungry and he hasn't even had his lunch yet… same with the others.

But Sephiroth was the one who doesn't seem to feel any hunger. "C'mon, one last song and then the whole album is done!" he told them.

"All in a day? In less than 24 hours? We are finished? This is so unbelievable," Reno told them as he fiddled with the drumsticks.

"What's the next song?" Rufus asked, cracking his knuckles before placing his fingers against the plastic keys of the keyboard.

Cloud got the pieces and the chords and handed the papers to everyone. "It's going to be the second track. It's called _Masamune. Guess who wrote it," he told them with a sarcastic look on his face._

"I could tell…" Vincent muttered as he read the lyrics.

"We didn't rehearse this," Rufus told them.

"I know. But it's easy, don't worry!" Sephiroth told them reassuringly with a proud smile on his face.

They all fell silent as they read the lyrics.

"Is everyone ready?" Reeve asked from the recording booth.

"No… wait a second…" Rufus said.

"This song has a double meaning!" Vincent declared with a surprised look on his face.

"No, it doesn't." Sephiroth said with a singsong voice as he rolled his eyes innocently.

"You're right… it has a double meaning…" Rufus muttered, trying to stifle a smile.

"What do you mean it has a double meaning? As if Rufus didn't write a song without a double meaning?" Sephiroth asked, eyeing Rufus suspiciously.

Rufus frowned at him. "What song?" he asked, acting innocent.

"I think it's _For the Girl with the Locked Heart." Reeve told him through the microphone from the recording booth, able to hear their conversation from inside the studio._

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Shut up, Reeve, or maybe you'd like a salary deduction on your next paycheck? Anyway, let's just start and get this over with. I need to go back to my office and sign more papers." Rufus told them before signaling Reeve, Rude and Elena.

Reno cued his bandmates by hitting the drumsticks against each other.

The people from inside the recording booth were quiet as they listened to the intro. It sounded good. "Looks like Sephiroth really has talent, huh?" Elena asked.

"Are you recording already?" Reeve asked.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

"Talk about rock…" Rude thought silently, realizing that the sound was very wild and it can really wake up the dead.

And then they listened to the lyrics as Sephiroth stepped forward to the microphone and sang with feelings:

_Who wants a feel of pleasure?_

_Pleasure with so much pain?___

_Who wants to feel my lovin'?_

_Lovin__' for the evenin'?_

_Oh…_

_Who wants to feel my pleasure?_

_My pleasure with my pain?___

_I see you feel my lovin'_

_Lovin__' for my soul and_

_I realize you don't know how_

_And when or why and where_

_Did I come inside_

_I came inside_

_And didn't come out again!_

_Well…_

_My Masamune is long and hard_

_And it can penetrate through you;_

_Will penetrate through you_

_And it will make you scream…_

_Scream so hard, baby,_

_Oooh__, yeah, I love it._

_You drive me crazy…_

_You and my Masamune through your body…_

_Oh yeah…_

The three people inside the recording booth made disgusted faces and they were also checking out the facial expressions of Sephiroth's fellow band-mates as he continued to sing.

Rufus felt ridiculous as he continued to play the keyboard.

Cloud was already frowning and they could all tell that he was uncomfortable.

Reno was all-smiles, suddenly too wild with the drums.

Vincent, this time, wasn't using an acoustic guitar, and he was hoping that his claw wouldn't make "clang, clang" noises against the metal strings of his guitar.

Sephiroth, the bassist, had this impish smile on his face as he proceeded to play and sing. The song lasted for three minutes and fifty-six seconds.

Sephiroth began to laugh victoriously after the recording, creeping out his other band-mates. "Mwahahahahahahahaha!"

"Uhm… that was… weird." Rufus remarked.

"Yeah." Vincent told him.

"Why'd you write that song?" Cloud asked with a frown on his face.

"Nothing. I got bored. I just thought I'd write something about my favorite thing." Sephiroth told them with a wink. "Now, can we eat?" he asked them.

"Let's go." Cloud told them.

"I'll be in my Office back in ShinRa." Rufus told them before heading outside the studio, going to the recording booth. "Is everything fine?" he asked, wanting to make sure.

"Very good, President Rufus! You all sounded so perfect!" Reeve praised proudly.

"Of course. Anyway, pack up the instruments and bring them back to ShinRa." Rufus commanded before rushing out.

"I think General Heidegger's calling for me now. Better report first." Reno told Elena.

"I'll go with you," she got up and removed her headphones before going after Reno.

Rude handed the cassette tape to Reeve. "Here you go, Mister Reeve. It's ready for reproduction." He said.

"Thanks for helping out, Rude," Reeve said.

"Reno just requested Elena and me to help since we're his fellow Turks." Rude said before leaving.

Reeve began to instruct the other workers to help pack up while he starts the procedure for copying the songs… and just when he was about to leave, Scarlet arrived with a deep frown on her face. "Kyah… where have you been?!" she demanded.

"I was just here helping President Rufus with the recording since he also asked me to be in charge of ShinRa Records." He replied.

"Kyah… you were absent in the meeting with Heidegger. We just received some amazing reports about the company's budget!" Scarlet told him.

"If you're here to tell me that I'll receive a salary deduction for not attending the meeting, I'm already expecting that," he told her rather glumly before turning away from her, knowing that she will just keep on insulting him.

"Kyah! You aren't listening! This is about President Rufus! You said that he was just here a while ago. It seems like he's not spending too much time in his office ever since they formed that band, so we'd expect that we are going to fall apart! But we're not! ShinRa has improved a lot! It's so unexpected!" Scarlet explained.

Reeve froze and stared unbelievably at Scarlet. "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"You don't believe me?!" she snapped with a threatening tone.

He shook his head frantically before smiling calmly at her. "Well… maybe he's inspired by the music. We all know that he likes to play the piano and sing, but his father had to ruin his desire of loving music." He told her before turning away.

"So how are the songs? Heidegger and the others would like to hear it." Scarlet asked.

"Well… if you're not into rock or alternative, I suggest that you go listen to another band." Reeve told her as he kept on walking, but she trailed from behind him.

"Kyahahahaha! What's the name of their group anyway?" she asked with a mocking smile on her face.

"The Hunks." Reeve said with a ridiculous smile on his face.

Scarlet stopped walking. "What?" she asked.

"The Hunks." He repeated, stopping to face her.

"It… it sounds like… a group of boys from gaybar or something…" she said.

"Just kidding." He told her before proceeding.

She raised an eyebrow at him before following him again. "KYAH! You stupid Urban Development Dork! I'm serious!" she snapped at him.

"Okay, it's L.W.D. It stands for _Light Within Darkness." Reeve explained._

"Kyahahah. Sounds somewhat disturbing…" Scarlet said.

"It should; they're not singing pop songs." Reeve told her.

"How many copies of that album are you producing?" she asked.

"The album's gonna be called _All Beauty Must Die. It's based from one of the songs… guess who sang and wrote it," Reeve told her._

Scarlet thought for a while before replying, "Sephiroth?"

"Nope. It's our very own President with Vincent Valentine. They're the two vocalists for that song. You should hear it. It's creepy… like it's telling a demented story." Reeve said.

"Kyah! What if you put their songs on back-mask and then it says something else?" she asked, feeling scared all of a sudden.

"We'll see, Scarlet, we'll see…" Reeve told her before entering another room, shutting the door and then locking it so that she wouldn't be able to follow him. She was beginning to tick him off with her questions.

            A week later, Cloud couldn't believe what he was hearing on the radio… though he felt somewhat sick… and he wanted to cry but he stopped himself.

It turned out that the first single released from their first album was the song "_This is for Aerith_."

He turned off the radio and went over to Vincent's quarters. "I thought your song '_Lucrecia_' was supposed to be the first one to be aired?" he demanded with a frantic look on his face.

"You should be proud. It sounds nice." Vincent said with a smile, listening attentively to the song playing on the radio.

"But…" Cloud was blushing.

"It's your song for Aerith. Don't you want the whole world to know how much you love her?" Vincent asked with a kind smile on his face.

"You look happy," Cloud told him.

"I'm just pleased that at least I get to forget my problems by performing." Vincent admitted.

"And now you're telling me your thoughts." Cloud pointed out.

"I should. I think it's just high time that I learn to trust people… and consider you guys like my friends." Vincent told him.

"I'm touched." Cloud said with a sarcastic look on his face.

Vincent's face turned serious. "No, really. The truth is, I'm just glad to be having a diversion from all my problems." He said with a glum look on his face.

"Oh, so the '_friends'_ part is a joke?" Cloud asked, wanting to make sure.

Vincent just shrugged before getting up from his bed. "Maybe you could try roaming around Midgar and check on your _fame points_." He said.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.

"I was just making rounds in Sector 1 with Sephiroth this morning and more than 20 people approached us and asked for our autographs and took pictures with us." Vincent explained.

"That's… just disturbing." Cloud said.

"Why?" Vincent asked.

"I mean…  I'm not really a people person…" Cloud muttered.

"Me too. But it's worth it. At least people don't think that I'm a freak anymore." Vincent replied.

"You were with Sephiroth this morning? Making rounds with him?" Cloud asked, wanting to change the subject. 

"Didn't I mention that I got my former job as a Turk back? Thanks to Rufus." Vincent explained.

"Oh, that's good to hear. Did Sephiroth become First Class Soldier again? Maybe if I talk to Rufus he'd let me join SOLDIER again." Cloud was thinking quietly.

"By the way, there's a PRESS Conference later on at 3 in the afternoon… then we'll be interviewed by magazines, and then the new music television, and some newspapers… and we'll be guests in two shows tonight and we'll also have dinner with some big people and we got invited to seven parties so that we can perform there for the next week." Vincent cited.

Silence.

"This is what I'm afraid of…" Cloud muttered miserably.

"The price you have to pay for being famous… but I think it's okay. At least if we can't really express ourselves properly, we can do it through our music." Vincent told him.

Cloud wondered why Vincent became so open to him all of a sudden. "Oh well… never mind… but what's the use of me singing songs for someone who isn't here anymore?" he pointed out.

"Well, who knows? One way or another, she could listen to it." Vincent told him.

Cloud just shook his head. "What about you?" he asked.

"I don't know… there's still one thing I'm after, and I know I can't get it… but I still try to." Vincent replied rather vaguely. 

Cloud just shrugged before going out of the room with a disappointed look on his face.

            "You awake, Aerith?" Rufus asked gently.

She slowly opened her eyes. "Rufus?" she asked softly.

Rufus smiled slightly at her. "We have something for you," he told her.

"Huh?" she wondered with a weary look on her face before turning to Sephiroth. He smiled proudly at her before showing her their CD.

Aerith stared at it for a few seconds, observing the black cover with white swirls together with the words _Light Within Darkness and then _All Beauty Must Die_. "What's this?" she asked._

"Remember when I told you that we're forming a band? This is it. Our first album. A success in less than 24 hours after they aired our first single over the radio." Sephiroth explained.

Aerith smiled, her face livening up a little. "Really? Oh my… is Cloud…" she began.

"Yes, yes, we know. Cloud sang something here for you… well, he actually sang more than one song in here, but there's a special song here that we'd like you to hear," Sephiroth told her.

Rufus placed the CD in the CD player and began to play the last track.

Though the electric guitars were loud and dominating with the drums, the melody still sounded solemn, like it's slow rock. It made Aerith smile. "It's lovely…" she said softly.

What caught her attention was the bridge of the song, __

_And I longed so much to hold her in my arms,_

_That in the loneliness of the night,_

_I say "I love you" to the person invisible to my sight_

_But I know she's beside me always._

_And that she'll always be mine._

_And this is for my life._

_This is for Aerith…_

Sephiroth and Rufus noticed the sudden life in Aerith… her eyes looked livelier than before… and color has returned to her once pale face.

"It's so sweet…" she whispered softly as tears fell from her eyes.

Rufus slowly wiped her tears away with the back of his hand. "Once you get well, we'll bring you to him." He promised.

She smiled happily. "Thank you, Rufus." She said sweetly.

She was speaking clearly already and she doesn't sound weary anymore.

"You want to listen to the other songs?" Sephiroth asked.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? The rest is made up of really loud sounds compared to this one…" Rufus told him.

"No, it's okay. I also would like to hear your voices… and Vincent's too. And I'm sure Cloud has other songs there?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's indicated in the track list on who the vocalists are. You can just look at them." Rufus told her.

Aerith began to read the other tracks and also checked on the vocalists. Something caught her attention and she bit her lower lip to stop herself from giggling.

"Anything wrong, Aerith?" Sephiroth asked, sitting down on the bed beside her.

She looked up at Rufus. "Did you write this one?" she asked.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

"_For the Girl with the Locked Heart_." Aerith replied.

Rufus just smiled sheepishly at her. "Don't tell." He mouthed.

She giggled. "Well… even if I don't say it, it's here. It says here that you're the one who wrote it and then you sang it too!" she said.

Sephiroth was relieved that Aerith was suddenly back to her normal self again… and hopefully it wouldn't change.

"Well then why did you ask if I wrote it?" Rufus asked with a challenging but playful look on his face.

They both laughed. "Oh, Rufus. I was just testing you." Aerith replied.

They were laughing heartily that they didn't even notice that Lucrecia entered… and she looked stunned. "Oh my… what is going on? Why is she…" she trailed off when she saw the liveliness in Aerith. "Oh my goodness… you look different." She said.

Aerith blinked. "Oh, hi, Lucrecia," she greeted with a sweet smile on her face.

"See the power of true love?" Sephiroth whispered to Rufus as he nudged him.

Rufus just made a face.

Lucrecia checked Aerith's heart and pulse rate, then her blood pressure. Everything was suddenly back to normal.

"Oh my… this must be a miracle… what did you two boys do to her?" Lucrecia asked in disbelief.

"Rufus showed her a naked picture of Cloud Strife." Sephiroth kidded.

Aerith giggled.

"Bloody hell! That is so disgusting!" Rufus snapped with a disgusted look on his face.

"No, okay, seriously, mom… we just gave her a copy of the CD and made her listen to Cloud's song for her." Sephiroth said seriously with a slight smile on his face.

"Well, you still haven't given me a complementary copy. I'd like to hear it myself." Lucrecia told him with a silly smile on her face.

Rufus nudged Sephiroth. "Heheh. Are you sure you want to give your mother a copy of our album and you want her to hear your songs with the double meanings?" he whispered.

Sephiroth just raised his eyebrow at Rufus before turning back to his mom. "I'll just buy you a copy later, mom." He said with a sweet smile on his face.

Lucrecia smiled happily at Sephiroth and Rufus before turning back to Aerith. "You seem perfectly fine! If this goes on continuously for three months, you'll be able to walk sooner." She declared.

Aerith was pleased. "Oh, thank God…" she said happily.

"Well, I'll just be back in my lab. I'll be checking on you later, okay?" Lucrecia asked.

Aerith nodded.

"I'll see you later," Rufus waved at her before going out of the room with Lucrecia and Sephiroth.

"So does this mean that we don't have to use the JENOVA Cells on her anymore?" Rufus asked Lucrecia the moment they reached the elevators.

"Yes. It's such a good thing that she's suddenly well!" Lucrecia said unbelievably.

"It's a miracle, I suppose…" Sephiroth trailed off when he saw Vincent heading their way from the stairs. "Incoming," he muttered to the two.

The elevator door opened and Lucrecia instantly stepped inside and just smiled weakly at Rufus and Sephiroth, closing the elevator door and then heading back to the laboratory, leaving the two young men there, confused at her sudden action.

"Who was that?" Vincent asked curiously as he approached the two.

"Just one of the hired scientists." Rufus explained casually.

They all fell silent for a few seconds before Vincent spoke up again, "Cloud's wondering why we used his song as the first single."

"Why's he complaining? At least Aerith can listen to it and know that he's waiting for her." Sephiroth stated flatly.

"Screw him. He's just in one of his damn mood swings. Anyway, I'd better get back to work; I'll just see you guys later during the Press Con." Rufus told them before going ahead of them.

Vincent and Sephiroth watched him board the other elevator. 

"He's over-working himself, don't you think?" Sephiroth asked.

"Is he even eating? It's like he's losing too much weight or something." Vincent pointed out.

"Don't really notice." Sephiroth replied.

"Well he hasn't eaten his lunch and dinner yesterday and he did not even eat breakfast today." Vincent stated as they began to walk down the hallway.

"Maybe he's eating between meals." Sephiroth said blankly.

"Does he even starve?" Vincent asked.

"I dunno. Why don't you ask him yourself?" Sephiroth asked mindlessly.

Vincent just shook his head. "With those mood swings? I don't think so." He replied.

"Oh c'mon, don't tell me you're afraid of Rufus ShinRa?" Sephiroth asked with a teasing tone.

"No. It's just… not my business to do so." Vincent simply replied with a half-smile.

"Well then whose business is it?" Sephiroth asked.

"He's like Lucrecia… somewhat stubborn but it fits the character…" Vincent was thinking quietly before replying, "Rufus doesn't like people sticking their noses into his personal private life so I think we'd better leave him alone and let him do whatever he wants." 

Sephiroth just kept quiet and then shrugged. "I'll just see you later." He told him before leaving. He felt rather uncomfortable knowing about Vincent and Lucrecia… and Vincent doesn't know the truth about Lucrecia.

With that, Vincent just proceeded to the elevators, wanting to go back to his room and rest for a while before it is time for the Press Con.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

to be continued. ^^

I'm so sorry for the delays….. ;_;


	9. Rufus Has A Problem

Us Against the Music

By: General Quistis

------------------------------------------------------- 

Rufus Has a Problem

            All eyes were on them as they entered the conference room of a TV Station. 

"What's this TV station again?" Cloud asked with a whispery tone as he sat down on one of the chairs behind the VIP table. This was the seating arrangement: Cloud, Rufus, Vincent, Sephiroth and Reno.

"Midgar Television Network… channel 5." Rufus muttered. His other bandmates could not help but notice that he has been glancing at his watch over and over again ever since he left his office.

The Press Conference was about to start.

"I wonder what kind of questions are they going to ask us," Reno said out loud.

"Hopefully nothing too personal." Sephiroth said with a slight smile on his face.

After five more minutes of waiting, the Press Con started. It was either Sephiroth or Reno who answered most of the questions. Vincent just listened quietly but at some instances would coach Sephiroth and Reno on how or what to answer. Cloud just leaned back on his seat, his arms crossed and refusing to look at the media people. He hated the flashes of the cameras. How they blinded him. 

Rufus, on the other hand, was already used to the camera flashes. He had been experiencing those ever since he was born… because his father was the one popular at that time. He could feel his stomach rumbling already, but he was not saying anything. He still had his usual poker-faced expression as he stared straight ahead, not even bothering to listen to the questions or to the answers being given by his other bandmates. A lot of things are going around his thoughts: work, work and work. "I have to sign this and that… then tomorrow I'll be meeting with the Mayor… and then lunch with a religious leader in a restaurant in Sector 1… I hope it's seafood… and then rehearsals again. Damn! I almost forgot the song that I'm supposed to write! Shit… I'll do it tonight once I get back… and I need to check on the marketing plans…" it went on and on until the Press Con was already over and his other bandmates just stood up, startling him. He snapped back into reality and frowned slightly before he got up, clearing his throat. He looked at his watch again and saw that it was already 5:00 pm.

And he felt his stomach rumbling again.

He was quiet as Cloud led the way to another room that looked like a small meeting room. Inside were members of the PRESS from magazines and newspapers for a one-on-one interview. They were offered some food, but Rufus did not touch any of those even if he was already hungry. He was too busily thinking about his work.

"Sir," one of the reporters asked, interrupting his thoughts.

All eyes turned to him when he turned to look at the reporter.

"What made you decide to write the song _For the Girl with the Locked Heart_?" 

Reno and Cloud just looked away while Sephiroth smiled impishly at Rufus. Vincent just smiled slightly and then got himself a candy bar and began to eat it.

Rufus licked his lips before answering, "I got inspired." And leaned back on his seat.

"Is this dedicated to someone… like a girlfriend or something?" the reporter asked.

"The Media sucks…" Rufus thought miserably. They are always stubborn for questions. He hated it… yet he should get used to it already because ever since he became the President of ShinRa, there had been more questions about his thoughts, his past and basically almost everything about him… all coming from the media. He just retained his poker-faced expression as he answered, "I wrote it for the girl with the locked heart… as the title implies." And rolled his eyes before muttering, "…duh." He crossed his arms and legs and looked away.

"Well who's the girl with the locked heart?"

Another question.

"I think he doesn't want to answer the question," Cloud pointed out to the reporter with a warning look on his face, but the reporter did not get it: "President Rufus, is she a girlfriend?"

Rufus just turned back to the reporter with a sly smile on his face, "No comment." And then turned away again.

Silence.

"Next question," Sephiroth said, breaking the silence.

            "What the hell is their problem?! Can't they just stop asking questions?! I don't want to answer any of them and they just kept on going on and on and on…" Cloud was complaining as he got inside the limo.

Rude shut the door from outside and then hopped in on the front seat, signaling the driver to start the engine.

Rufus still had his arms crossed and he was staring at the floor. "That's a lesson. They'll never stop until you say the truth… at least, _what they presume as the truth_. I've been bombarded by stupid questions like that ever since I learned how to speak, and I learned that if you don't like to answer truthfully, just say _no comment_ and they'll just shut up." He explained.

"Trust him, he's an expert." Reno told them with a silly smile on his face.

"As I've noticed. He answered the same thing to each of the questions. I wonder how it's going to be printed." Vincent said softly.

"But it's only you whom they would stop bothering if you say _no comment_. I tried saying it and they still bombarded me with a lot of questions regarding my love life." Reno pointed out with a disappointed look on his face while staring miserably at Rufus. "Maybe because they are afraid of you… knowing that you're also the President," Sephiroth pointed out to Rufus.

"I don't like speaking to them because anything that I would say to them can be used for or against me. I think even the _no comment_ has an effect on my image as President and as a member of this band." Rufus muttered miserably before he flipped his hair and then glanced at his wristwatch once more before crossing his arms again.

His bandmates just stared at him curiously. "Is there anything bothering your mind, Rufus?" Sephiroth asked.

He did not answer. He just looked away and stared outside the window, eyeing the orangey skies caused by the setting sun. It made him feel somewhat…

Lonely.

…and he just started to long for something… for someone…

He frowned before sighing heavily.

            "Damn it, Tifa, ya foo'! Can't you switch to another radio station? The songs are beginning to suck!" Barret called out from the kitchen. 

Tifa just stared into empty space with a faint smile on her face while she remained seated on the sofa. Barret was the one preparing their dinner and he just let her rest… after all, she is not yet well. 

Unfortunately, the wound got infected and it still hurt a lot whenever she would move too much, that was why her other companions just let her rest while they do the household chores. She also had been getting frequent headaches. Barret even suggested that she go see a doctor, but Tifa would not listen. She would not want to bother him with the doctor's fee. Once, he mentioned that she should not have left ShinRa until her wounds had healed… but she would not listen to him.

She sighed heavily before lowered the volume and called out to her friend, "Well, what do you want? RnB?"

"Anythin' but rock and alternative! My ears are beginning to bleed! And since when did you start liking those kinda songs?" Barret demanded.

She just smiled. "Barret, can I go to the central mall tomorrow? I want to buy something," she told him.

"What are you going to buy? Yuffie's comin' over here to help with the chores." He responded.

"I'll be quick, don't worry." Tifa told him.

"Don't tell me you're going to buy the LWD CD, huh?" he asked directly.

Her eyes widened as she bit her lower lip. "Well… yeah." She told him.

"Well, heheheh. That's a surprise." Barret told her.

"C'mon, Barret, I love their songs." Tifa told him honestly.

"And who's your favorite member?" he asked with a teasing tone.

Tifa blushed. "…just the songs, Barret," she called out before she slowly got up and switched to another radio station before heading upstairs. She slowly climbed out of her window and held onto the gutter. She carefully climbed up the roof and once she reached it, she sighed in relief before she sat down and then looked up at the stars. She smiled gently as she examined the starry sky. 

She was humming the piano intro of the song "_This is For Aerith"_, the first single of LWD… and when she learned earlier that afternoon who the band members were and who played what instrument, the more she kept on humming the piano intro. A slight blush was forming on her cheeks as she recalled the time when she was in ShinRa… at that moment, she was thinking about the what ifs… "What if I did not leave?" "What if I stayed?" "What if he's… mine?"

She stopped her thoughts when she saw a shooting star. She gasped slightly. It had been a long time ever since she last saw a shooting star. She smiled calmly… but her crimson eyes showed sadness in them. With that, she went down to her room again and rushed to her piano. She stared at the ebony and ivory keys before she placed her hands on them and began to play and then started singing:

_It's just my imagination_

_A big hallucination_

_About you and me together_

_And watching the stars.___

_It's just my daydreams_

_Telling me about you_

_And me…___

_And you tell me you love me…_

She stopped playing when she felt her head throbbing again. "Ow…" she clutched her head as she slowly got up and went to her bed. She plopped down and rested her head with an annoyed look on her face on the pillow. She sighed miserably. "This is really beginning to get to me…" she thought silently.

"Teef," Barret called out from outside her room. 

She did not reply. Barret entered her room. "Hey, it's time for dinner." He told her.

"I'll go down in a minute. You go ahead." She said with a weak smile on her face.

Barret did not want to remind her of her condition to make her feel miserable, so he just gave her a compliment, "Hey, you still haven't lost touch with your music, huh?"

She just shrugged.

"You could turn that into a business. Just like what Cloud did." He continued.

She was silent.

"You composed that?" he asked.

"Yep. Just moments ago… but it's not yet finished." She replied before closing her eyes. 

Barret nodded his head, "Okay, I'll just see you downstairs for dinner." He said before he went downstairs.

She shifted to the other side and opened her eyes again, gazing up outside the window and staring at the stars. She began to hum the piano intro again… 

Somehow, it managed to help her mind off the pain she's feeling on her head. And with that, she slowly fell asleep.

            Rushing back to his office, the moment he got inside, he shut the door and went straight to his desk and switched on his PC. With that, he removed his white jacket and sat down on his office chair and picked up one of the folders lying on the top of his desk and then opened it. He also got a scientific calculator from one of the desk drawers. 

He licked his lips before he proceeded with his work.

He heard his digital desk clock chime as it struck 12 midnight. But he did not mind it.

He continued to type, compute, think… work, work and work.

And he continued, non-stop…

Come 7:30 am, he was still awake and encoding the contents for his new marketing plan. It was not really his job to do it, but he wanted everything to be perfect…

"Rufus, you in there?" Cloud called out from outside the office.

Rufus did not answer. He just kept on typing… even when Cloud was already standing by his desk and watching him quietly. "Uhm… Rufus, won't you join us for breakfast before we rehearse?" he asked rather stiffly.

Rufus stopped typing and turned to Cloud. His blue eyes looked so tired and lifeless already. "Breakfast?" he asked.

"You didn't eat dinner last night. Are you sure you're okay?" Cloud asked curiously, seeing from the look in Rufus's eyes that nothing was alright in him.

Rufus just nodded and then saved his work. "Okay, I'll go down and join you." He told him mindlessly before he got up and went ahead to the dining room. Cloud trailed from behind him, staring curiously at him.

The moment they reached the dining room, they immediately sat down. Cloud and the others began to eat, but Rufus just sat there, staring at his plate with a deep frown on his face.

Bacon, eggs, hotdogs, French toast and mango juice.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Cloud asked.

Rufus slowly reached for his knife and began to eat the bacon. He was slowly chewing on his food, and then proceeded with the eggs, finished them and little by little, he began to eat everything on his plate until he finished it. He drank the mango juice and then just waited for the others to finish eating.

Before the others were done eating, Rufus immediately got up from his seat and rushed out of the dining room.

"What's wrong with him?" Sephiroth asked with a perplexed look on his face.

"I don't know. He's been acting so strange lately." Reno told them.

Cloud got up from his seat and followed after Rufus, running after him until they reached the bathroom on the same floor. He saw Rufus enter one of the cubicles, and he did not even know that someone was following him…

Cloud froze by the doorway when he heard Rufus throwing up.

*** 

_How do I know if things are the same_

_When all you do is play this game_

_Of wits and fame…___

_This must be lame,_

_But I'm doing this for the money…_

_For nothing._

Cloud kept on strumming while looking at the chords and the lyrics while listening to Rufus singing. 

_And if the sun goes down without any word_

_Utter your incantation regarding this world that we're livin' in,_

_And know that I live in sin_

_For money and power…___

_And power's for ruling'_

_And money for nothing…_

The song finally ended. Rufus flipped his hair and smiled proudly at them, "So, what do you think of that?" he asked.

"Good enough for the next album." Sephiroth pointed out with a pleased look on his face.

"You wrote it all by yourself?" Vincent asked with a slight smile before putting down his guitar on the floor and then sat down on the chair, shaking his right hand gently.

"It suits him well, don't you think?" Reno chimed in while twirling a drumstick and then stood up.  "I'm hungry. Let's eat." he told them.

"Again?" Rufus asked with a look of disbelief on his face.

"What's wrong with eating? It's like this guy's gonna get fat!" Sephiroth kidded with a silly smile on his face while pointing at Reno.

"We haven't eaten lunch yet, Rufus," Cloud pointed out.

Rufus checked his watch and his eyes slightly widened in surprise. "Damn! How long have we been here?! I have to attend a meeting!" he moved away from the microphone and then ran out of the room.

"He's missing his meals on purpose," Cloud stated flatly.

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth asked.

"Or maybe he's anorexic or something…" Vincent said.

"I thought only girls have the tendency to have anorexia?" Reno asked.

"What if it's also bulimia?" Cloud asked.

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud was hesitant for a while before replying, "Well… never mind… maybe he just had a bad stomach and he's really too busy with his work that's why he doesn't have time to eat anymore." He strummed a chord with his electric guitar and said, "Let's try Sephiroth's song without Rufus, shall we?"

"But it doesn't sound complete without the keyboard," Reno remarked.

"Then let's make it sound like it's heavy-metal instead of something like slow-rock." Vincent told them.

"Alright... but can we eat first? I'm really hungry," Reno told them.

            Rufus stared blankly at his laptop monitor while his hands were unmoving on top of the keyboard while listening to Scarlet's report regarding the Weapons Department.

He was supposed to be typing something… but what was it?

"Take down notes, dammit!" Rufus was already scolding himself silently, but he could not move. He felt so dizzy and so uncomfortable… he wanted to collapse.

"Meowrrrr," Dark Nation was looking up at him from the floor. The cat could easily notice that her master is feeling uncomfortable… and sick.

Rufus removed his hands from his laptop keyboard and raked his fingers through his hair.

Scarlet stopped talking when she noticed Rufus's sudden action. Everyone else turned to Rufus and began to stare at him.

He looked at them, scanning the inquiring looks on their faces. "Go on. Don't mind me," he replied rather weakly before turning to Reeve, "Take down notes for me, I'll just go to my office. I think I left something there," he instructed before he slowly get up.

Dark Nation went with him, and as soon as Rufus got out of the conference room, Scarlet remarked, "KYAH! What is wrong with him? Is he sick?" 

Heidegger shrugged.

"Anyway, just go on… we need to finish this before he returns," Reeve told them as he got up and transferred to Rufus's seat for a while to use the laptop to take down notes from Scarlet's report. Upon sitting down, he realized that Scarlet had been making her report for more than an hour already and Rufus still hasn't typed anything but the heading: _Notes for Scarlet's Report Regarding the Weapons Department_.

They all saw Reeve's surprised look on his face. "Anything wrong?" Palmer asked curiously.

"Eh… nothing…" Reeve replied mindlessly before he signaled Scarlet to speak, but she frowned at him and dropped her papers on the table before marching over to him. She saw what Rufus had typed. She raised an eyebrow. "Kyah! What is he doing?! Is he even paying attention to my report?" she asked in disbelief.

"Maybe he doesn't like the person reporting. Gyahahahahahahaha!" Heidegger teased. Palmer joined in the laughter. Lucrecia just kept quiet while reviewing her report with a deep frown on her face.

Scarlet sneered at the two fat men before turning to Reeve, "There is something going on. His mind's not on his work anymore!" she snapped.

"What are you trying to imply? That President Rufus is too preoccupied with his singing and playing the piano and organ instead of doing his paperwork?" Reeve asked patiently.

Lucrecia turned her gaze to them, "I don't think so. He worries too much about his work and spends sleepless nights doing them. He's even missing his meals," she explained.

"Missing his meals?" Heidegger asked.

"He's just busy, that's all," Reeve pointed out.

"No, it's not normal anymore." Lucrecia argued as she placed her papers on the table.

"So what are you trying to imply? That he's on a diet?" Palmer asked rather mockingly.

"He couldn't _that_ vain to go on a diet too! His body is already fine the way it is!" Scarlet pointed out.

"Anorexic or something?" Reeve muttered to himself while thinking things through.

Silence.

"Never mind. Let's just continue before he returns here and scold our heads off," he told them.

They went on with their reports… and when Scarlet had finished her report, they moved on to Heidegger's, then to Palmer's, then to Lucrecia's…

In the middle of the report regarding the Science Department, she stopped talking and asked, "Where is President Rufus?"

Silence.

They all exchanged confused glances with one another. 

Heidegger checked the time on his watch. "Gyah! We've been discussing here for five hours already and it's already night time! Where is he anyway?" he asked in shock.

"Kyahahaha! Where else?! Maybe he's with his _stupid_ bandmates again! I'm going to call him!" Scarlet got up angrily, but before she could march out of the conference room, Lucrecia snapped at her, "So you mean to say that my son is also stupid?"

"Kyah! Hell yeah! He just inherited it from you because I can't believe you married the wrong guy!" Scarlet sneered with a mean look on her face.

Lucrecia just narrowed her eyes on Scarlet before turning away and sat down, keeping her gaze on her report. She has not time to argue with the corporate bitch.

With that, Scarlet rushed out of the room in secret fear that Lucrecia might snap and do some harm on her… after all, the woman is Sephiroth's mother… with the JENOVA cells too.

            Scarlet entered the music room but there was no one there already. She fell silent, and also felt somewhat embarrassed.

From behind her, she heard Reeve speak out, "They're not here,"

She jumped up in surprise before turning around to face him, "Kyah! You scared me! What are you doing here?" she demanded angrily.

"I followed you, obviously." He replied.

"Hmf…" she turned away and scanned the whole room from the doorway. "If they're not here, they could be in a bar outside Sector 1 or something…" she trailed off when they saw Cloud heading their way.

"What are you two doing here? Is the meeting over?" Cloud asked them rather demandingly.

The two fell silent, not knowing how to answer. But Reeve gathered his courage to answer, "Well… have you seen President Rufus?" he asked.

"The last time I saw him was during practice before he attended your meeting. We're actually wondering where he is right now." Cloud told them.

"You mean you haven't seen him around lately?" Reeve asked.

Cloud shook his head.

"He said he'd go to his office to get something…" Scarlet began.

"Well did you check there?" Cloud asked.

The two shook their heads.

Cloud thought for a while, sensing that something was wrong. With that, he rushed to the elevators and left the two there. He went straight to the 70th floor where Rufus's office is located.

When he reached the office door, he heard some scratching noises and some whimpering. He frowned. "Dark Nation?" he recognized. He instantly opened the door and the panther-like animal almost pounced at him but immediately moved away from the door. "Meowrrr!" it seemed to be nervous about something. Cloud raised an eyebrow. The animal rushed up the stairs leading to the President's desk. Cloud followed after her and saw that she went behind the desk. 

His eyes widened when he saw Rufus on the floor behind the desk, unconscious.

*** 

_…and my flesh is burning because I'm dying of starvation from your taste_

_And I am shrinking to the bone,_

_But I don't want be all alone,_

_Please don't leave me all alone_

_With money for nothing.___

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To be continued…..

Author's notes: Eh… thanks to One-Winged Sephiroth for helping me with Rufus's song "_Money for Nothing_". And by the way, Tifa's song is an original too… by me. =_='

I might not be able to update until March because of schoolwork… and since I am part of the main cast of one of the school plays, things just got worse… but anyway, I will still try to post the next chapter. Hey, I hate cliffhangers too, you know? _


	10. Competition

Us Against the Music

By: General Quistis

Ten: Competition

            "I just don't understand what is going on!" Sephiroth told them in a frantic manner as he sat back on the couch and raked his hand through his bangs.

Rufus had been confined to his own room for more than a month already… still too weak and refusing to eat for a reason they do not even know of. 

"This is the third month. How long will it take before he gets well again?" Cloud asked them.

"Yeah, we've been performing already in five concerts _without him_! We can't last like this. If we want publicity, we need Rufus!" Sephiroth replied.

Vincent sat down beside him and shrugged. "Our ratings are still good. We're still number one on the hit charts. I don't think it's all that bad," he told them.

"But we're incomplete." Reno said.

"You think singing Rufus's songs is easy?" Cloud asked with a frown on his face. For their concerts without Rufus, Cloud had been asked to sing his songs and after every concert, he would be the one with the painful throat and couldn't sing well for almost a week. Then there came another concert. And then another, and another and another. Lucky for him, there is a one-week break after some of the next few concerts.

"Have you tried talking to him yet, Cloud?" Reeve asked.

He shook his head. "He wouldn't tell me anything." He replied.

"Well we need to get him to work with us again. I wouldn't want to be known as a part of a band that became a one-hit wonder!" Sephiroth remarked.

"We did not release one single only! We already released five from our first album… and now our second album's about to be released. The only songs we need to record for the second one would be Rufus's songs… unless you don't want to include them anymore." Reno told them.

"We will wait until Rufus is well before we release our second album." Sephiroth decided.

"Well… I think you guys have to hurry. There's enough room for a competitor in the music industry." Reeve warned them.

            She opened her eyes and saw that it was already night time. "How long was I asleep?" she asked mindlessly as she slowly got up from bed.

She saw that Yuffie was still seated by the window and reading magazines. "Oh. Finally you're awake! You looked bushed a while ago after you washed the dishes after lunch." She told her.

"Thanks for staying here…" Tifa scratched her head. "Is it time for dinner yet?" she asked.

"Yeah. I helped Barret prepare them. What happened to you anyway? You just went up here and then fell on your bed and started to snore!" Yuffie told her.

Tifa shrugged. "I'm not really sure…" she replied.

"You sure you're okay? I mean, like, nothing's really wrong with you?" Yuffie asked as she put down the magazine that she was holding and stood up.

"I'm alright. Don't worry about me. Just tired… I guess…" Tifa replied as she walked to the door. "I'm hungry." She announced.

"Well then, let's eat now while the food's hot. I think Barret's already serving them." Yuffie told her as she assisted her out of the room and down the stairs.

Upon reaching the dining area, they saw that Barret was already putting a bowl of beef stew in the middle of the table and Marlene was eagerly waiting for dinner to start. The little girl lightened up upon seeing Tifa, "Yay! Tifa's here!" and got up from her seat and rushed to Tifa, embracing her.

Tifa smiled sweetly at Marlene and hugged her back.

"So Teef, ya okay now?" Barret asked before sitting down.

"Yep." She said happily before she sat down on her chair and then switched on the radio by the window. The song _"Masamune"_ was playing.

"That's Sephiroth, right?" Marlene asked curiously.

"Yep." Barret replied.

They were silently eating for a few moments until Yuffie sighed heavily, breaking the silence. "Gee. Cloud's so famous now… and Vincent too. And I don't think they're going to give a damn about us _common folk_ anymore." She explained with a sad smile on her face.

"Heh heh! You want to get even? Get famous too! That'll teach 'em not to forget foo's like us! Hah!" Barret suggested in a rather joking and sarcastic manner.

Yuffie stopped eating. Tifa froze.

Yuffie smiled happily and got up with an excited look on her face, "LET'S DO IT!" she exclaimed.

"Do what?" Tifa asked in awe.

"Form a band!" Yuffie told her.

"No way!" Tifa said, feeling embarrassed.

"C'mon, we want to get out of this state of poverty we're in and we have to…" Yuffie began to blab, but Tifa shook her head, "I don't think so, Yuffie. So what if we're poor? At least we're all together, right?" she asked with a sad look on her face.

"But we cannot always stay like this! C'mon, Teef! You have the talent. You can sing and play the piano and…" Yuffie began.

"That's not the point… I mean… how are we going to find someone who will let us audition? I don't wanna go back to Midgar anymore and end up in Sector 5 and getting another head injury. This one is enough." Tifa pointed out with a miserable look on her face.

"But this time I'll be with you, Tifa! C'mon, aren't we buddies?" Yuffie asked with a pout on her face.

Tifa just smiled sweetly at her, "I'm afraid not, Yuffie," she said with a sarcastic grin before she began to eat again.

Yuffie frowned at her, "What? How come?" she asked.

"Materia is hidden in your pocket. That's my material." Tifa pointed out with a stiff look on her face.

Barret just shook his head unbelievably. "Oh no, not again…" he muttered miserably.

            Aerith put on her boots and then went over to the dresser, scanning her reflection while humming one of Cloud's songs. She had just heard of Rufus's current situation ten days ago when Vincent told her about it and she felt rather disturbed about it. She reached for her bangles and then put on her string choker. Afterwards, she got a knife and with a sad smile on her face, placed the knife against her long brown wavy locks, ready to cut them short.

In one swift motion, she was able to cut her long hair, leaving a length of up to her shoulders. She dropped the rest of her old locks on the floor with a blank look on her face. She slowly turned around when she realized that someone was watching her from the doorway. She smiled softly. "Elena,"

Elena smiled calmly at Aerith. "The car is ready, Aerith." She told her.

Aerith faced the mirror again and ran a brush through her hair, and then rushed to her friend. "Let's go before they find out." She told her.

"But why? Aren't you happy here?" Elena asked.

"I am but… I need some time for myself too." Aerith replied as Elena handed her a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap. Elena could not believe that a change of clothes could really disguise her friend; Aerith was wearing a blue tank top and a short skirt with a length that is three inches above her knees. The sunglasses and the baseball cap did the finishing touches for the disguise: she really looked very different.

"Where are we going anyway?" Elena asked as she led the way. She was still wearing her Turk uniform.

Aerith did not reply until they reached the car. They had to pass through the emergency exit stairs to reach the garage. "Kalm." She said simply as she entered the front passenger seat.

Elena got into the driver's seat. "Okay, but after I bring you there, I'll have to come back here or else they will definitely give me a salary deduction and might even blame me… which I think they'll really do… if they find out that I helped you get out of here!" she said nervously as she started the engine.

Upon reaching the front gate, a Second Class Soldier made them stop. "Damn…" Elena muttered nervously.

"Just go with the flow." Aerith whispered before Elena rolled down the window and smiled sweetly at the Soldier. "Hey there! Heehee!" she greeted sweetly which made the man blush slightly.

"Eh… good morning, ma'am! Where are you going?" the Soldier asked.

"I am going to bring my cousin to the hotel in Sector 2. She can't stay here according to President Rufus. They already gave me an off." Elena replied with a wink.

The Soldier smiled and nodded. "Alright." He took a quick peek inside at Aerith and smiled warmly at her.

"Hmf. Can't we hurry? I need to rest. I'm too tired from my flight." Aerith said snobbishly with a British accent she learned from hanging around with Rufus.

The Soldier frowned at her and then moved away from the car. "You may pass," he told them before muttering, "Gee, that girl's unlike Elena. At least her cousin is sweet!" he told his fellow guards.

With that, Elena sped off. The two of them were laughing hysterically as they drove off from Sector 1 going to the highway leading outside Midgar.

"That was really a good imitation of President Rufus's accent!" Elena told her happily.

"Even the attitude, I copied! Heehee!" Aerith said proudly and then mockingly flipped her hair.

Elena smiled and leaned back as she finally drove the car out of Midgar. As they reached the highway leading to Kalm, her smile faded. "But I told a lie back there… if I go back, they might…"

"You can always stay with us, Elena." Aerith told her with a sweet smile on her face.

"But…"

"I don't mind if you're from ShinRa. I think you're nice. They will accept you. You know Yuffie and Tifa, right?" she asked.

"Y…yes, but… how are they going to take that you're alive?" Elena asked.

Aerith took off her baseball cap and ran her fingers through her hair. "That's why we're going to give them a surprise visit and then tell them of our plans." She told her with a proud look on her face…

            "Aerith?" Lucrecia called out as she went to Aerith's bathroom to check where she is.

No answer.

She went over to the dresser and put down the sphygmomanometer on top of it. She saw a pair of scissors lying on the left side of the dresser and got curious that she got it and stared at it for a few moments before she got interrupted when someone just barged in. She dropped the scissors on the floor as she gasped in surprise and turned around towards the door. She sighed in relief when she realized that it was only Sephiroth.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" he asked curiously as he shut the door.

"May I ask you the same question?" she asked, crossing her arms with a stern look on her face. "I thought you're supposed to be guarding Rufus?" she continued.

"He was the one who asked me to go here and check on Aerith…" he trailed off when his gaze traveled to the bed and saw that it had been made. "Where is she?" he asked.

"You tell me," she pointed out before she knelt down to pick up the scissors, but froze in horror when she saw several locks of brown hair on the floor. "Oh my…" she said softly as she touched the brown locks of hair and grabbed a handful as she stood up properly again and stared at it unbelievably.

"What's that?" Sephiroth asked as he approached his mother. 

Lucrecia's mouth dropped open as fear took over her. "Oh my God!" she said before dropping the locks of hair and ran out of the room.

"Mom!" Sephiroth called out, but she did not respond. He looked at the scissors on the floor, and then at the brown hair. He frowned slightly. "Shit… don't tell me…" he muttered in disbelief before running out of the room, following his mother.

Lucrecia went to the lobby downstairs and to the receptionist. She sounded frantic, "Have you seen a young lady with short brown hair go this way?" she asked.

The receptionist blinked. "What's she wearing? Is she an employee here, Ma'am?" she asked.

Lucrecia stopped herself. She cannot reveal anything else. She has to find Aerith on her own. With that, she just left and went upstairs again to search the hallways. Sephiroth had been trailing behind her all the time, not saying anything until they reached Aerith's room again. Lucrecia entered with a tired look on her face; loose strands of hair were on her face already as she fell to the floor on a kneeling position. "She… she left…" she said softly.

Sephiroth was frowning. "How am I going to explain this to Rufus and Vincent?" he thought miserably.

            They finally reached Kalm. After searching for 30 mintues, they found the place where Barret and the others were staying.

It was already lunch time when Barret heard someone knocking on the front door. "Get that, Yuffie!" he commanded.

"Do it yourself! I'm doing the laundry here!" Yuffie called out from the backyard.

Tifa rolled her eyes and got up from the sofa and then rushed to the door. "I'll get it, stop arguing!" she told the two before she opened the door. Her eyes widened in shock upon seeing Elena… and then she expected to see someone else.

To her disappointment, _he_ is not with Elena. "Wh…what are you…" Tifa stammered.

Elena smiled kindly at Tifa, "Hey, Miss Lockheart! It's so nice to see you again!" she said before giving her a friendly hug. Tifa was overwhelmed. "Is there anything wrong? Why are you here?" she asked curiously before facing the two again. She wondered why the brown-haired woman was smiling at her like she knew her all along.

Tifa stared hard at the woman, curious on how her eyes looked behind the sunglasses she was wearing. Seeing the look in Tifa's eyes, Aerith slowly removed her sunglasses and revealed to her friend her green eyes that she hasn't seen for too long.

Her friend let out a loud gasp upon seeing those green eyes again… 

"Teef, who's…" Barret trailed off and almost dropped the plate that he was holding upon seeing the woman with brown hair standing by the front door with Elena and Tifa. "Oh my…" he murmured in awe.

Tifa blinked back her tears, "You… you can't be Aerith… she's…" she said softly.

Aerith nodded.

Barret's eyes widened. "You are Aerith?" he asked in disbelief. He had a hard time recognizing her fully because of the hairdo and the baseball cap.

Aerith just smiled sweetly at them before answering, "Please keep it a secret."

"Oh, Aerith!" Tifa's tears finally fell as she reached out for her long lost friend and embraced her tightly. Aerith was stunned at first, not expecting Tifa's reaction. All those times, she thought that Tifa despised her because of the issue on Cloud, but she never knew that Tifa had long accepted the fact that some things are not just meant to be. But still, there is some sadness in Tifa's eyes, and she easily noticed it… like she lacks something much more in her life.

"Happiness, maybe?" Aerith thought silently as she smiled gently at her best friend and returned the embrace.

"Welcome home, Aerith," Tifa whispered happily against her ear.

Aerith closed her eyes for a while, concentrating on the stillness of the moment. Everything seemed to stop when she heard that. "Home?" she thought silently with a blank look on her face.

It was just one of the places where she belongs, but she knew she hasn't returned home completely.

            "So, you're planning to stay here?" Barret asked, interrupting the conversation between Aerith and Marlene.

Aerith turned and smiled at him, "Why? You don't want me to?" she asked with a playful pout.

"I didn't say anythin' like that, ya foo'! You can stay here all you like, Miss Gainsborough, but you still owe us an explanation for everythin'." He replied while waving his fork at her.

"What about my friend Elena here? Can she stay too?" Aerith asked, referring to Elena who was seated beside Yuffie.

"She's a ShinRa." Yuffie reminded them.

"Yeah, so? I just work there!" Elena argued as she sliced her piece of meat frustratingly.

"Why? What's wrong?" Tifa asked Aerith.

"She helped me escape. I can't stay so long there. You see, I wanted to come back here but I took three people with me back here so that I wouldn't be lonely. We promised we'd help each other find what we're looking for… but everybody else seems to be more preoccupied with something else… like a diversion. Except for Sephiroth, I think. And then everybody knows that I'm here, except for Cloud… and Sephiroth had to tell a _little_ white lie to him. I just thought that the right time will come before I can face him again, so I needed to get away for a while and stay someplace else to think things through. That's when I decided to just go here." She explained.

"But… how did you find out that we're just here in Kalm?" Tifa asked.

"Well… just found out about it two nights ago. Vincent and Sephiroth entered my room to check on me and then I pretended to be asleep. They were talking about something… I think it's about Rufus. And Sephiroth told him that maybe they should go to Kalm to pick up someone for Rufus… then Vincent asked why they should go to Kalm… and he added that he could just contact you guys here and tell you what to bring to them. Sephiroth just said _never mind_. At least that's what I heard." She explained rather hesitantly.

The mention of the name made Tifa's heart sink. She bowed down her head for a while before she continued to eat.

"Well, do they even know that you're here?" Barret asked. He had a bad feeling about this.

Elena and Aerith shook their heads with weak smiles on their faces.

Silence.

"Ya foo's! What if they start looking for ya here?!" Barret demanded in panic.

"Don't worry about it! They wouldn't know I'm here! And they won't recognize me easily, I'm sure of it. From now on, you'll be the only ones to know who I really am, but the others will call me _Eris_." She explained proudly.

Yuffie thought for a while before she giggled. "You'll need more than that disguise to make them think that you're not Aerith Gainsborough!" she told her.

She blinked.

"Oh no… Yuffie, don't start," Tifa warned miserably.

"Why? What's going on?" Elena asked.

"I have a plan…" Yuffie began with an excited look on her face.

            "I can't believe you and Elena agreed to Yuffie's idea!" Tifa said miserably as she made Aerith sit down by her dresser and got some liquid eyeliner.

"Well if we're all going to live together in one place with Barret and Marlene, we need to help with the expenses." Aerith told her.

"We can work as a waitress… or I can put up another bar here." Tifa pointed out.

"Tifa, don't you want _him_ to know you're still alive?" Aerith asked curiously as she looked up at her best friend who was standing beside her, holding the liquid eyeliner and the foundation.

Tifa began to apply foundation on Aerith's face. "From now on you'll appear like this in public." She said changing the subject.

"Don't change the subject, Tifa," Aerith said playfully.

"Who's the _him_, anyway?" Tifa asked, surrendering. She stopped applying the foundation and then started with the liquid eyeliner onto Aerith's lower eye lids.

"Oh you know…" her friend responded with a sweetly.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked with a wink.

Aerith's smile faded.

Tifa laughed at her. "I was just kidding, okay? C'mon, don't take it seriously! Cloud's yours for all I care! Heehee!" she said playfully as nudged her gently.

Aerith was stunned for a while before smiling again. "C'mon, Tifa, I know you…" Tifa cut her off by saying, "There you go! It's all done! Look at the mirror!" 

Aerith felt confused before turning to the mirror. Her eyes widened because of what she saw. She looked like a goth. "Oh my…" she said softly.

Yuffie entered the room with Elena. "Hey, guys, I already talked to guy from the record company and he agreed to meet us tomorrow!" Elena announced happily, but her smile faded upon seeing the goth girl seated by the dresser.

"OH MY GAWD!!!" Yuffie exclaimed in shock.

"My masterpiece," Tifa told them proudly, referring to Aerith.

"The more we should really form a band! With that kick-ass look, Aerith is definitely unrecognizable! I thought she's somebody else the moment I entered the room!" Elena explained gleefully.

"Alright, girls! Let's get it on with our instruments!" Aerith said happily as she stood and clapped her hands twice.

*** 

_Two months later…_

            Cloud was wondering why Vincent and Sephiroth would appear so dull and restless even during concerts… like something else is on their minds.

The media also noticed it and immediately, a lot of gossips emerged from out of nowhere; so uncontrollable that they could not even find out where they came from… though Sephiroth swore that if he finds out who started the rumors, he'd kill that person immediately.

Then there's the issue about Rufus. A lot of people are asking them where he is, all they would answer is "_He's busy with his work_."

There's no way they would tell the Media that Rufus is sick because of an eating disorder… so the media just decided to spread the news that there's something _going on_ between Sephiroth and Vincent… something _intimate_.

"WHAT?!?!?!?" Sephiroth growled angrily as he crumpled the newspaper and burned it with a simple fire magic.

Vincent just stared blankly at him. "You know you wouldn't be reacting that much if it isn't true," he pointed out.

"Oh, stop acting like you don't give a damn about these rumors! It's ruining our image!" Sephiroth told him with a frustrated look on his face.

Silence.

"So… is it true?" Reno asked.

"No." Vincent and Sephiroth both replied in unison with pestered looks on their faces.

Reno just shrugged and moved away from the two, wanting to avoid an argument. "Well, they're still playing our songs on the radio… and we're still a crowd pleaser when it comes to concerts… and we still can't go out the streets decently because fan girls are roaming around stalking us… so I think our image is still okay." he told them as he switched to another radio station because the songs became sentimental. With that, he just sat down again and began to read another newspaper. "And I wonder where Elena had gone off…" he muttered miserably.

Silence.

"Honestly, guys, what's causing this?" Cloud asked, staring at Vincent and Sephiroth.

The two just stared blankly at Cloud while thinking quietly, "Can't tell you that we're worried about Aerith…"

Knowing that the two had no intention to answer, Cloud just shrugged and got up, moving to the door to leave while the DJ spoke, "_Alright ya listeners out there! Get ready for some fresh music by Prettier Than Pink! This is called _'Clouds Above Me'_ Right here on Midgar FM 98.0_!"

He stopped walking.

They listened curiously to the acoustic guitar intro… followed by the drums and some piano. Then the voice of a young lady:

_Wish I died in his arms..._

_But I do not know,_

_Because I closed my eyes before I could see_

_That he's the one who loves me._

"Man, that's cheesy," Reno remarked, attempting to change the station.

"Nice intro," Sephiroth remarked.

"No, don't change… it…" Cloud stopped himself, trailing off at the last word. He could not believe what he had just told Reno. He just shook his head and ran out of the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Sephiroth asked curiously.

Vincent just shrugged.

Reno changed to another station, but then that other station was also playing the song. "Okay, this song seems to be popular already," he muttered with a frown on his face before switching to another radio station. 

The DJ spoke up, "Okay, you're listening to FM 92 the hottest Rock and Alternative Station heard in all parts of the Planet via satellite. And we're about to end our countdown but before we do that, let us listen to our number two song by Light Within Darkness or more popularly-known as LWD… here now's _Masamune_ on number two!"

"It's number two?" Sephiroth asked in disbelief.

"At least it's still in the top 5," Vincent said with an optimistic tone.

"It's our third single. What happened to the rest?" Reno pointed out with an inquiring tone.

"Maybe our 5th is the number one." Vincent tried to convince them.

The song ended after some minutes and the DJ spoke up again, "Okay that was _Masamune_ by LWD with Sephiroth doing the vocals on number two this week! Well I'm sure that you're all excited to hear the number one song? But before we do that we'll do a recap for our weekly top 20 countdown…"

"Crap! It's gonna take long… I hope it's quick," Reno muttered.

They all listened carefully and realized that three of their singles are still on the countdown. Two among the first 15 and then one within the top 5 (the number 2 song).

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for… the number one song! This is actually a new one and we just started playing this song, actually, yesterday! Can you believe that!? Four talented and beautiful young ladies that are just new in the music industry released by Musica Records Incorporated. Together, these four ladies are known as _Prettier Than Pink_! And here's their first single and the new number one song this week: _Clouds Are Above Me_." The DJ introduced.

Reno and Sephiroth jaw-dropped.

Vincent just blinked and smiled weakly at them, "Maybe we could check out the list of the other stations online," he told them.

*** 

            "I can't believe that song by those punk girls are number one in seven out of ten radio stations we checked…" Sephiroth muttered miserably.

"Goddamit! We really need to get Rufus up and about again if we want to be number one again!" Reno snapped at them.

"Like how?" Cloud asked miserably.

"Relax, we can make it. I think we'll still make it even without him. After all, they're just a bunch of girls, right?" Vincent asked, wanting to put some optimism in his bandmates.

Silence.

"Mwahahahaha! Who are they anyway? We've been online for more than an hour already and we still haven't checked out who they really are!" Sephiroth told them.

"Let's check it out later, we need to get to the studio for our recording. Don't worry, I'm dragging Rufus with us this time." Cloud told them. "I'll see you guys in the car," he continued before leaving Sephiroth's room.

Sephiroth just disconnected and then decided to shut down the PC before he got up. "Musica Records Incorporated, huh?" he asked with a sly look on his face.

"What are you thinking of?" Vincent asked cautiously.

Sephiroth just smiled slyly at them. "Nothing." He said before he led the way outside his room. Reno and Vincent followed after him, eyeing him curiously.

"If you're thinking of burning MRI…" Vincent began cautiously with a warning tone.

"No, I'm not thinking of burning anything, it's not my occupation anymore." Sephiroth cut him off.

"Then what?" Reno asked.

"We'll just have a little visit to the record bar before we head out to our recording session today." Sephiroth told them.

"Nah. Just let one of us do it and we'll just see each other in ShinRa Records." Vincent suggested.

"Okay, we'll let Cloud do it." Sephiroth pointed out.

"Let's just take a separate car going to the studio and then Cloud can drive with Rufus." Reno told them.

            "I thought we're going to the studio? How come we're here in the mall?" Rufus muttered miserably with a tired look on his face.

Although he and Cloud were wearing sunglasses, several people were still looking at them as they passed by.

"We have a competitor. They're a band with women members. I don't know why Sephiroth wants us to buy their album. I've told you about it moments ago, right?" Cloud asked as he began to search for the album.

"Prettier Than Pink. How girly…" Rufus muttered as he flipped his hair.

"Once you hear their song, you'll think twice. The lyrics might sound somewhat girly but the tune and some of the words are… somewhat different from what their name implies." Cloud explained. He stopped for a while when he finally saw the CD displayed. He got it and headed over to the cashier. 

Rufus just rolled his eyes. "Look at that CD! It's so pink!" he told him.

"Once you listen to their first single, it wouldn't be so girly anymore." Cloud told him glumly.

            "Reeve, we're facing tough competition here. We can't let a bunch of girls get the best of us just because people think that their music is better than ours!" Rufus snapped impatiently. Suddenly the life in him returned upon listening to the CD during the ride to ShinRa Records.

"Well… I think people like them and their music because they are kick-ass babes even if the impression that they give is _too feminine_ and _too sweet_ that ants could start invading their smiles… at least that's what survey revealed," Reeve explained with a hesitant smile on his face.

"Who are they anyway?" Cloud asked.

"Maybe there's some kind of identity description in that case where they put the lyrics and credits and stuff," Reno suggested. Vincent got the CD case and got the glossy booklet from inserted in it and began to browse through it. When he turned to the third to the last page, what he saw made his eyes widen in shock.

"What?" Sephiroth asked as he came closer to Vincent to take a look, but he moved the booklet away. "I don't think you still have to see this, let's just throw it away," Vincent suggested with a weak smile on his face.

"No," Sephiroth grabbed it from him and began to browse through it… and then saw the pictures and the rest of the credits. "…?!" he felt so speechless.

Rufus, Cloud and Reno began to read over Sephiroth's shoulder when he fell back onto the chair. Their eyes widened in shock.

Reno read some of it out loud: "Prettier Than Pink is composed of Eris, Tifa, Yuffie and Elena…"

Rufus's mouth dropped open. 

The five of them could not believe at what they were looking at: Tifa, Yuffie and Elena… looking like the same as always… except maybe for their new attire. Tifa was wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck and flared pants and high-heeled boots. She was smiling the usual way. Yuffie was wearing a green tube top and a black leather mini skirt plus combat boots. She had this playful smile on her face. And Elena was wearing a blue razorback top, a brown necktie hanging down from her neck and loose cargo pants plus rubber shoes. She was winking with a teasing smile on her face… 

Then the _new_ girl.

"Who's this other one? Where did they meet her?" Reno asked in disbelief.

"Maybe from the slums or something… she looks nasty." Rufus muttered as he stared at the girl with shoulder-length wavy brown hair and green eyes. 

"Well she looks like a goth." Cloud pointed out with a frown on his face as he stared at Eris.

"Her name seems to work for her. She looks mean." Reno said.

"Goddess of Discord. I see what you mean," Sephiroth said with a keen look on his face.

"Oh my… you mean we have to compete with a bunch of girls?" Reno remarked at them with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Unfortunately," Rufus told them.

"Hmm… their drummer is Elena. Yuffie's on bass, Eris plays the lead guitar, then Tifa's on the keyboard." Vincent announced after reading the rest of the contents of the booklet.

"Keyboard?" Rufus asked, frowning.

"Lead?" Cloud asked with a frown.

"Elena?!" Reno exclaimed. All eyes turned to him. He frowned and crossed his arms, "I don't get it… how did she learn how to play the drums?!" he snapped.

"Maybe she saw you?" Vincent suggested.

Silence.

"How many more tracks do we need for this upcoming second album of ours?" Rufus asked, breaking the silence.

"We already have thirteen. We need two more to make it 15." Sephiroth explained.

"Well then, let's get going. I have more songs in mind to add to our album." Rufus told them with an arrogant smile on his face before flipping his hair and headed for the recording room, leaving the others in the lounge.

"Suddenly he's full of life," Reeve told them.

"Just make sure he eats later after recording." Vincent said before he followed after Rufus.

"Have you told him about our gig tomorrow night?" Reno asked Cloud while on their way to the recording room. Reeve heard the question so he butted in, "Eh… maybe we should cancel your gig tomorrow night and move it to another date because Prettier Than Pink is also having their gig on the same night… at the other bistro right across the street from the bistro where you'll be performing."

Silence.

Cloud just smiled calmly at Reeve. "We'll see who's the better crowd-pleaser then," he decided.

"That's the spirit," Sephiroth urged with a mean smile on his face.

"Oh no… please, just don't start a fight there," Reeve told them with a worried look on his face.

"Don't worry, we won't." Sephiroth replied before entering the recording room where Rufus was already practicing with the keyboard…

================================================= 


	11. Cloud and Eris

Eleven: Cloud and Eris

            Sephiroth stared at the crowd while playing his guitar. Cloud was the one doing the vocals for their first song when the evening started.

It was a full house… but reports arrived that the other bistro where Prettier Than Pink is had more people in it… it annoyed the hell out of Sephiroth and Reno. They even saw some people leave the bistro and then transfer to the other one to watch. It made them feel so insulted.

Rufus was trying hard not to mind the things happening around him; he just concentrated on playing… 

They were already performing on-stage for an hour already when suddenly, they realized that the music from the other bistro was really playing loudly.

Rufus slammed his hands against the keyboard as he glared angrily at the other bistro from outside the window. Vincent just kept quiet and kept on playing his acoustic guitar and continued to sing, "_Where are you now? Didn't you promise you'd come back? Up to now, I'm still here waiting and all alone. Where are you now?..."_

Sephiroth was giving Rufus a warning look but he avoided it. He got down from the stage and headed backstage.

Since Reno wasn't playing his drums because it's Vincent's acoustic performance, he followed after Rufus, leaving Cloud, Sephiroth and Vincent on-stage.

"Where are you going, boss?" Reno asked curiously as they got out through the backdoor and passed through a dark alley before they reached the other bistro. 

The bouncer almost blocked their way, but upon recognizing Rufus's face, he gave way.

Rufus and Reno entered the bistro and saw that everyone was dancing and jumping around, grooving to the music that the girl band was playing. They could not believe that such a "sweet-looking" image could hide such a wild attitude on the music that they are performing.

_Gothically__ sweet…___

_I'm the girl you'd want to eat._

_Swallow me whole and I'll give you my soul_

_So you can burn me with your money_

_And I can suck your honey…_

Rufus and Reno raised their eyebrows upon hearing the lyrics. "Oh my…" the latter reacted while the former just retained his poker-faced expression.

Tifa was the one singing.

After the song, everyone hooted and cheered. Everybody seemed to love them.

Then Tifa smiled sweetly at everyone as if the song she sang didn't sound _evil_ and out of character for her. "Thank you," she told them.

Yuffie giggled. "Are ya'll enjoying the night?" she called out to the audience.

"Yeah!" everyone but Rufus and Reno responded excitedly.

"Alrighty then, let's bring da haus down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" as Yuffie yelled the last word, Aerith began to strum a chord. The crowd became wilder.

"I can't believe it… they're just girls!" Rufus thought in disbelief. But his conscience was telling him, "Maybe you should stop discriminating, ShinRa." He just shrugged off the thought. "Hmf," he flipped his hair and crossed his arms.

"Man… there are more guys in this place…" Reno realized while looking around.

"Of course. They're women with the boobs." Rufus pointed out mindlessly before making his way through to the front, leaving Reno there trying to stop the people from stepping on his foot.

_Seven hours since I last danced the waltz_

_Eleven hours since I last heard your call…_

_And all I see is the blue in your eyes_

_And what I feel is the coldness in them…_

_I imagine my hands running through your blonde hair_

_And your breath rushes up to my skin like the cold winter's air._

_But it's only twenty-four hours since I last saw your face_

_And now it seems like a millennium before I can meet you again…_

Rufus finally made his way through the crowd and reached the front, standing where he knew that Tifa (the one singing) could see him.

_It's like playing a piano with no keys_

_Kissing a dream that faded away_

_And you…_

Tifa trailed off upon seeing Rufus… even though she kept on playing the keyboard. The rest of her bandmates wondered what was wrong… They all turned to look at Tifa, until everybody else wondered what happened to her because she suddenly stopped singing.

She stopped playing the keyboard as she tried her best not to smile upon seeing him again.

Aerith followed Tifa's gaze and saw Rufus ShinRa staring up at her friend. Her mouth dropped open in surprise and then stopped playing. Elena and Yuffie stopped playing too.

Everyone fell silent.

"Tifa, what are you dong?" Yuffie asked in a whispery tone.

Tifa snapped back into her senses… and started playing again… this time, a slow tune. 

Her bandmates had never heard the song before… and it's not even in their first album. The audience thought that it was a new song…

And Tifa spoke up, "This is…something I wrote that I would like to dedicate to all the people who are in-love in this room…" she told them with a shy look on her face as she removed her gaze from Rufus and concentrated on playing and then began to sing:

_How do I love thee?_

_Let me count the ways…_

_How do I love thee?_

_Will it ever fade._

_I don't love thee from the breath and depth of the ocean_

_Nor like the loveliness of the sunset_

_And the sweetness of your sonnet.___

_But I love thee for your eyes,_

_Your sweet cold eyes_

_And the paleness of your face…___

_And I wish you would listen_

_So my tears wouldn't glisten anymore…_

_But do you love me?_

_Can you hear my name?_

_How would you like if_

_It will never fade?_

_I don't love thee from the songs that the nightingale sings_

_Nor like the loveliness of the sunrise_

_And the sweetness of your kisses that are still imaginary_

_But I would love to feel them_

_Just like how I love thee…_

_Like the coldness in your eyes and the paleness of your skin,_

_I don't mind…_

_And I wish you would listen_

_So my tears wouldn't glisten anymore…_

_But do you love me?_

_Oooh__… yeah…_

_But do you love me?_

_Ooh… Darling, now…_

_How do I love thee?_

_Yeah._

_But do you love me?....._

Everyone felt mesmerized by the sudden change of mood in her voice and her music… and everyone felt like they were in a jazz concert… but all the same, they liked it for some strange reason. 

"Tifa, what are you doing?!" Yuffie exclaimed in shock, stomping her feet in annoyance, interrupting the whole moment including the song.

"We are so sorry, ladies and gentlemen but there seems to be a problem here…" Aerith said with a British accent before turning her gaze angrily to Rufus ShinRa. "Because there is an intruder." And raised an eyebrow.

All eyes turned to Rufus. He just frowned and flipped his hair arrogantly. "Oh, so you're blaming me?" he asked with a mean smile on his face.

Silence.

"I have all the right to watch you perform, whoever you are…" Rufus began.

"Eris," Aerith told him arrogantly.

Yuffie, Elena and Tifa were quietly watching them. Tifa had this worried look on her face. Yuffie was suddenly confused in Aerith's sudden change of attitude. "Man, she's good…" she thought silently.

Elena just looked away.

"And you, Elena, I think I need to have a word with you for just leaving ShinRa without me firing you," Rufus continued, turning to her.

She bit her lower lip before looking embarrassingly at him. "Well… I quit, sir," she said rather weakly.

Aerith just smiled evilly at Rufus. The way she smiled gave them the creeps because she really looked like scary with her dark eye-shadow, long eyelashes and black eye-liner and pale face and blood-red lips… and her attire: all-black. "Well, President Rufus. I suggest you go back to your gig across the street. You wouldn't want to cause some trouble here, right?" she asked before she strummed a chord and shouted against the microphone, "Alright, ya'll set for some lovin'?!"

The crowd seemed to forget that Rufus was there. "YEAAAAAAAH!!!!!"

"And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three, hit it, girls!" Aerith gave the signal.

Elena began to play her drums and Yuffie began to strum.

Tifa was just surprised and alarmed at first, that she did not notice the cue. She was delayed but she caught up immediately with the song. Aerith is going to sing…

Reno finally reached Rufus. "Boss, I think we should split." He told him.

"Not until I have a word with one of them," Rufus told him despite the noise.

_Last night, I had a dream about the two of us together_

_And when I thought that it would last forever,_

_There I was getting stabbed right through the heart._

_I can feel it in my brain_

_It still makes me go insane_

_And the last thing I saw was you before I closed my eyes and died…_

"Cool lyrics," Reno told Rufus.

He looked at Reno ridiculously, realizing that the Turk was already grooving to the tune. Reno froze, realizing what he was doing. "Hey, I have to admit, they're good!" he admitted with a sheepish and hesitant look on his face.

Rufus just rolled his eyes and left the area. He did not go back to the other bistro; instead, he went back to ShinRa by foot. He was so frustrated and so confused that he did not notice what he just did. He went straight to his office, ignoring all the employees that greeted him and asked him what he was doing there when he's supposed to be in a gig with the rest of his bandmates.

He made sure that nobody disturbs him and then went to his desk and began to devise a new strategy for LWD. "We have to improve our image if we want to remain in the map…" he realized. And to think that their competitor is a girlband.

Now why can't they just somewhat team-up with them? After all, they're just a bunch of girls and his group is a bunch of guys. They could even collaborate.

But Rufus just could not swallow his pride… especially when he thought about that _Eris_ girl.

But then there's Tifa.

His eyes widened upon remembering her… and her song. He smiled slowly before shrugging off the thought. "Whatever," he muttered miserably.

_The next day…_

            "I can't believe what Rufus did last night is already on the papers today," Sephiroth muttered as he handed the morning newspaper to Vincent while having breakfast.

Vincent stared at the front page. "Where? It's not in the front page," he pointed out.

"Entertainment section," Cloud elaborated.

Silence.

"Sometimes, he just needs to control his temper." Cloud told them.

"He didn't really do anything. Eris was the one who initiated the trouble." Reno told them.

The name caught Cloud's attention: "Eris?" he asked.

"E-R-I-S. Not the _other one_… though I could've sworn they look the same," Reno explained.

"Nah, that girl's a goth." Sephiroth pointed out.

Vincent just continued to read before putting down the newspaper on the empty seat beside him. "Okay, who will talk to Rufus?" he asked.

They were just silent.

"I won't do it." Cloud told them.

"Why are you so afraid of Rufus?" Reno asked them.

"C'mon, you're afraid of him too," Sephiroth teased.

Reno frowned at him, "Well then you talk to him if you're so cool about it," he pointed out.

"Why not let Miss Lockheart talk to him?" Sephiroth decided.

Silence.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked.

"You know, it's so strange. She just started singing that mushy song against her bandmates' will last night when she saw Rufus." Reno pointed out.

"As stated in the newspaper…" Vincent said softly.

"But you gotta admit, their tunes are really cool." Reno told them.

"You know… it doesn't make any sense. We cannot really consider them as our competitor because they're girls and we're guys! We have different target audiences…" Vincent trailed off when Rufus entered, cutting him off, "…yes we do. Their target audience is also our target audience. We both perform the same type of music for the same target audience," 

Vincent turned to him, "But they're women and we're men!" he pointed out.

"And one of them's an ass!" Rufus snapped.

Silence.

"Oh so this is already in the personal level that's why we're still competing against them to find out who's the better crowd-pleaser?" Vincent asked with a look of disbelief on his face.

Silence.

"Ahem…"

All eyes turned to the doorway upon hearing someone clear his throat. It was Rude. "Uhm… there is a lady who wishes to speak to President Rufus." He announced.

"Who?" Rufus asked with a frown on his face as he flipped his hair.

"She does not wish to give out her name…" Rude began, but Rufus cut him off, "I don't want to talk to anybody right now. Cloud, you go to her." He instructed.

Cloud's eyes widened in shock. "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"You heard me." Rufus responded rather coldly before he began to eat. Cloud examined the look in Rufus's eyes before he got up from his seat and proceeded to the door while thinking quietly with a slight frown on his face, "At least he's eating now,"

Rude led the way to the waiting lounge for unexpected visitors on the 2nd floor of the building. Upon arriving there, Cloud was surprised to see the Goth-like woman seated on the couch, her legs crossed rather suggestively and her hands resting on her thigh. Cloud's eyes were wide as he stared unbelievably at her. "Oh no… why me?!" he thought in shock, not sure if he should go back to the dining area and _call for back-up_ or tell Rude to get Sephiroth or Vincent to handle the situation. The way _Eris_ was looking at him spelled trouble. But before Cloud could decide to tell Rude to call Sephiroth or Vincent, the bald Turk already left and shut the door.

"Pleasant morning, Strife," Aerith told him with the British accent.

Cloud swallowed hard. Somehow, it was hard to determine what the color of her eyes are because of the black smudge around her eyes. Her face was too pale, as if covered by too much of light-colored (almost white) foundation; enough to make her look like a member of the Kabuki theater; while her lips have blood red color on them… like she just sucked out blood from a human or an animal—Cloud wasn't really sure. "'Morning," he greeted rather stiffly before crossing his arms and deepening his frown on purpose. "How did you know my name?" he asked with a sort-of demanding tone.

She laughed at him. "Of course, I know. Everybody else knows who Cloud Strife is… especially the ladies. Oh, the price you have to pay for being famous. Tell me, how's LWD?" she asked casually before she uncrossed her legs and sat down rather unladylike. Cloud had to look away so that he wouldn't see her underwear (she is wearing a short black leather skirt). "Damn… I think that length is waaaaay worse than Tifa's!" he was thinking quietly while clearing his throat and proceeded to sit down on the other couch to her side instead of the sofa facing the couch where she is seated. "It's fine, as far as I'm concerned." He replied mindlessly.

They were silent for a few seconds before he spoke up again, "What is your business here?" he asked.

"Huh?" she asked.

He turned to look at her, examining her eyes and the way she was looking at him. "What is your business here?" he asked.

"Well, I wish to speak with President Rufus, your keyboardist." She replied while playing with her fingernails.

"Well he isn't available. You may go now," he told her before he got up and proceeded to the door, but she got up and went after him, grabbing his left wrist.

The touch of her hand against his skin made him stop and his eyes widened in sudden shock upon feeling a strange sensation creep through his veins. He felt his heart sink. He turned to face her again all of a sudden and he gasped slightly.

He thought he had seen Aerith in Eris. But he blinked and the vision was gone. Instead of seeing Aerith's beautiful smiling face, all he saw was the pale and evil-looking face of Eris. He pulled his wrist away from her before he backed away, "I told you, Rufus is not available. He is busy." He said, trying to sound hard so that she would not notice that his voice was faltering.

Aerith was crying deep inside her. "I touched him… oh my God… his life… I felt him…" she was thinking happily, though she still managed to keep a straight face as she stared up into his blue eyes. "Oh Cloud, I want to meet you," she wanted to say out loud, but all she could do was stare quietly into his eyes. She wanted to hold him again… for a much longer time… She missed him so much!

How much longer should she put up that kind of act? She stiffened. "No… I will not give in… not until Tifa goes first…" she thought silently before smiling arrogantly at him and then chuckling mockingly at him, "Well then…" she began with a low tone before she stood on tiptoe, surprising Cloud with her sudden action. He stiffened and leaned against the door when her arms snaked around his neck and then moved closer to him… and then the next thing he realized, the Goth girl was kissing him rather lovingly.

Cloud's eyes were wide in awe, several memories from the past flooding his mind… and everything was about Aerith. How come everything about her felt like Aerith? He felt tears in his eyes, but he couldn't think well whether he should cry or not… and just when he was about to return her kiss, she let go of him, tears streaming down her face. He stared inquiringly at her, wondering why she was crying, but before he could ask her, she pushed him aside and opened the door and rushed out, leaving him there feeling so stunned… and when he snapped back into his senses and decided to follow her, she was already gone.

Frustrated and more confused than ever, he started to go back to the dining area, but his bandmates were not there anymore. He went around a couple of times around the ShinRa building just looking for them, but they were nowhere to be found. Finally, after giving up, he decided to just play his guitar. Suddenly he was inspired to write another song. When he reached the music room, he was surprised to see his bandmates there. Sephiroth and Vincent were tuning their own guitars while Reno was twirling a drumstick with his right hand and grooving to a tune that he was singing softly. Rufus stopped playing the piano for a while when he heard Cloud enter. All eyes turned to him.

He was just quiet. "God, how will I tell them…" he stopped his thoughts when Rufus spoke up with a stiff look on his face, "Could you explain what had just happened back there?"

Cloud frowned slightly. "Wh…what?" he asked.

"In case you're wondering, we saw everything through the surveillance camera." Sephiroth told him.

Silence.

Cloud just bowed down his head and walked out of the room.

            Tifa turned her gaze to the door when she heard it open. Aerith entered with tear-stained eyes. "Aerith," Tifa began as she sat up on her bed and welcomed her best friend with open arms. Aerith accepted the embrace and hugged her back. "Well… at least I'm wearing water-proof mascara and eyeshadow and eyeliner." She said with a tone that sounded like it was forced to sound casual.

Tifa frowned slightly, "Where have you been?" she asked with a worried look in her eyes. Aerith let go of her and sat down beside her. "I… nothing… I was just in my room. I had a dream about Cloud…" she explained.

Tifa just stared into her eyes, suspecting something. "You're not really good at lying, Aerith," she pointed out frankly.

Silence.

"Okay, okay, okay… so I went to ShinRa and tried to… to talk to Rufus. I knew that he wouldn't be in the mood to really talk to someone like _Eris_ after what happened last night, and based on the things that I've read from the news and from the times when I stayed in ShinRa, Rufus is close to Cloud. I figured that he'd be the one whom Rufus will send to talk to me… and I was right. And…" she trailed off before chuckling rather weakly and embarrassingly.

Tifa blinked in awe, "So did you talk to Cloud? Did you tell him who you are?" she asked in disbelief.

Aerith shook her head disappointedly. "It's not yet time to reveal who I am. I don't know what Sephiroth told him but he still doesn't know that I'm alive. You should've seen the look in his eyes… he's so miserable. The first time he saw me today, I saw hatred in his eyes… I thought I'd die when I realized that. I don't want him to look at me with hatred, but then I remembered that I am not _Aerith_ at that moment so I just let it be and acted mean as planned." She explained with a sad smile on her face.

Tifa felt touched by what Aerith had mentioned. "Awww, Aerith," she gave her best friend another hug. "There, there. Why don't you wash your face for a while and get rid of all that make-up and just wear dark sunglasses later on when we go to the studio to rehearse so that no one will recognize you as Aerith?" she suggested.

Aerith nodded sadly. "Yes, I think I will." She replied before she let go of her friend and got up from the bed.

            Cloud cannot stop thinking about the way Eris had touched him that morning. The feeling was so strange… and he could still feel her hand around his wrist… and her lips against his… even as he played the guitar and sang his songs during the rehearsal.

He could not even speak well; he just kept quiet whenever his other bandmates would be discussing something relevant to their band and to their music. They never even bothered to ask him more about it because they know that it would just bother Cloud even more and it could affect his performance. 

At one point, at around 5:00 pm, they were already very quiet but Reno insisted on going to the Wall Market and get some drinks so that they could all just chill-out. Sephiroth completely agreed to the idea, but the others didn't, but ten minutes later, he was able to urge Vincent to come along.

Cloud and Rufus just sat quietly, playing their instruments even if the other three were not joining them to complete the melody. Cloud could tell that something was bothering Rufus's mind; Rufus could also tell that there was something bothering Cloud's mind.

Around 7:00pm, the other three left them.

"So, shall we have our dinner now?" Rufus asked coolly after unplugging the keyboard.

Cloud was silent for a while before nodding his head. He put down his guitar and followed Rufus to the door. On their way to the dining room, Rufus spoke up with a serious tone, "You're thinking about Eris,"

Silence.

Cloud just looked straight ahead. "And you're thinking about…" he did not really know what Rufus was thinking about; all he knows is that there is something in his mind. He just decided to cite an open-ended question so that Rufus may somehow get the hint and connect an answer to it… whether subconsciously or minding the situation. But he was wrong. "…It is none of your business whether I am thinking of something or not. You are thinking about Eris." Rufus stated stiffly.

"What's it to you, then?" he responded stiffly.

Rufus shoved his hands inside his coat pockets. "Hmf. I don't like her."

"Why not?" Cloud asked.

Rufus just kept quiet, but he was thinking quietly, "Aerith, why did you have to go away? How could you leave this guy here? Now there's this other woman trying to get him! Where the hell are you?!"

"I said, why not?" Cloud repeated impatiently.

Rufus jerked slightly because he was surprised by the sudden repetition of the question. "Hmm…? You were saying something?" he asked innocently.

Cloud frowned at him, "Why do you hate Eris?" he asked.

Rufus laughed mockingly at him which made him feel bothered and annoyed at the same time, "Don't tell me you are attracted to that woman?" he demanded.

Cloud just looked away. "It is none of your business if I am attracted to her or not."

"What about Aerith?" Rufus asked immediately. The mention of the name seemed to cut like a sharp knife through Cloud's heart. His eyes widened at the question. "Aerith is… dead… and she's with Zack now. She was never interested in me anyway. I should have just… settled with another woman… She only saw Zack in me, and not the real me that's why…" Cloud trailed off when Rufus stopped walking and faced him. He froze.

"She said she wanted to meet you. Don't tell me you're letting that hedgehog get your girl?" Rufus demanded.

"Hedgehog?" Cloud asked.

"Zack." He replied.

"Zack?!" Cloud asked in disbelief.

Rufus laughed. "Damn, Cloud! Look at his hair. He looks like a bloody hedgehog!" he responded.

Cloud stifled his own laughter before finally letting out a slight chuckle and then spoke up again, "Nah… what's done is done… besides…" his facial expression turned serious again before he spoke up again, "Honestly… Rufus… there's something about Eris… when I heard her song… and her voice… and what happened earlier… it's like… I saw Aerith in her…" he explained softly.

Rufus raised an eyebrow.

Cloud smiled slightly, but he was not looking at Rufus, "I know this sounds stupid… I mean, coming from me… but…"

Rufus waved his hand at him. "Oh, never mind… bloody hell. I don't want to listen to things about nonsense." He snapped impatiently before he turned and walked away. Cloud blinked for a while before he followed after Rufus. "You think _love_ is nonsense?" he asked.

"It is not only nonsense, it is bloody absurd." Rufus remarked before flipping his hair.

Cloud was thinking while glaring annoyingly at him, "You're only saying that because of Tifa." But he did not say anything more. He just stayed behind.

Rufus stopped walking and turned to face him again, "What are you doing?" he asked stiffly.

"You go and eat. I lost my appetite." Cloud replied haughtily before going to the other direction where the other elevators were located. Rufus did not even bother to force Cloud to dine with him, besides, they were already both in a bad mood. Bad mood plus bad mood would equate to more trouble between the two of them. With that, he just went down to the dining area.

Cloud headed straight to the garage and took one of Rufus's cars without permission. He intentionally just got the key from the secure key vault with all the keys to Rufus's many cars. "He wouldn't mind. He's got a lot." He was thinking quietly. To get the key, he just picked the lock with a paperclip. It was somewhat hard for him because he had to keep quiet and make sure that the alarm doesn't go off.

Cloud was driving towards the exit of Midgar when he saw a girl wearing dark sunglasses. She was wearing a black satin dress with a skirt length that is three inches above the knee and high-heeled leather boots. She was also walking towards the exit. Realizing that she looked to familiar, he pulled over ahead of her and backed up a little. She stopped walking and turned to look at the car that just pulled over.

Cloud rolled down the window of the front passenger seat to take a good look at the girl.

The girl's mouth slightly dropped open and let out a soft gasp and backed away a little before she smiled rather happily and then came closer to the car again. "Cloud!" she said in her British accent.

He smiled at her. "Where are you going?" he asked.

She felt rather nervous about her current situation, but she just spoke up with a casual tone, "I… I got bored during our dinner with the Mayor… so I told them I'd take a walk out here and go star-gazing outside of Midgar. Besides, the sky-scrapers around here are really blocking my good view. I don't like seeing buildings while watching the stars. It makes me feel like I'm trapped."

Cloud unlocked the doors. "Mind if I join you in your star-gazing?" he asked.

She shook her head. "N…no, not at all." She replied.

He motioned for her to come inside. She did.

With that, Cloud sped out of Midgar.

"This is your car?" she asked.

"No. Just _borrowed _it from Rufus." He explained. But she was quiet. He spoke up again, "So you left Tifa, Yuffie and Elena back at the Mayor's house?" he asked.

She nodded. "And to think that we're supposed to perform for his guests tonight too… but anyway, it's okay. I'm so bored stiff in there. I needed to get away for a while." She explained with a slight smile.

Cloud was wondering why she was wearing those dark sunglasses and it is nighttime. "Maybe the lights hurt her eyes…" he thought quietly, not wanting to really ask what's wrong with her eyes.

They finally got out of Midgar, and in the road leading to Kalm, Cloud drove a little out of the way and stopped by a small hill. He parked the car properly and switched off the engine. "Here we are," he told her.

She smiled slightly. "What is this place?" she asked before she got down. He followed after her. "I used to come here a lot… before I returned to Midgar." He told her before he sat down on the hood. She sat down beside him.

"Really?" she asked rather curiously. She doesn't sound like the mean girl that she used to be…

He just nodded quietly as he gazed up at the full moon and at the stars above them. He remembered that sometimes, he would just take a walk out of their house in Kalm and end up in the place where he is right now. It was quiet a long walk, but he did not mind.

"Why did you return to Midgar anyway?" she asked curiously.

He smiled rather shyly, but she easily saw in his eyes that he felt so sad all of a sudden. "I… I wanted to get away… away from everyone… and I wanted to move on." He explained.

"Move on?" she asked.

He just nodded, not wanting to look at her.

She was silent for a few seconds, just scanning the look in his eyes before she spoke up again with a soft tone, "Is it a lost love?"

Cloud's eyes slightly widened at what she said before he slowly nodded his head. "How can I trust her easily like this?" he thought silently before bowing down his head. The cool evening breeze was really beginning to make him shiver.

"Why? What happened to her?" she asked with a gentle tone.

"She's… gone… but I still went on waiting for her… even until now…. Even though someone told me that she's already in-love with another guy… that she got back with her old boyfriend…"

Her eyes widened behind her dark glasses upon hearing that. "WHAT?!" she exclaimed in shock. Cloud was surprised at her sudden reaction; she covered her mouth and then removed it quickly and smiled sweetly at him. "Who… who told you that?" she asked innocently.

"Sephiroth." Cloud muttered miserably before he looked up at the stars again.

Aerith bit her lower lip and looked away for a while, thinking, "Sephiroth, you'll pay for what you've done… why'd you have to lie to him?! What are you trying to do?!" She felt somewhat angry and betrayed at what Sephiroth had done to her. Now she's stuck disguising herself as _Eris_.

Aerith just sighed heavily before she let her hand travel to Cloud's. She got his hand and squeezed it gently. "Do you love Aerith?" she asked softly.

Cloud instantly turned his gaze to her.

She was looking at him… looking into his eyes… but he cannot see through her dark glasses. 

What is behind those dark glasses anyway? Why won't she remove them?

"Do you, Cloud?" she asked softly as she leaned closer to him, her face inching closer and closer to his…

He felt so nervous. He tried to back off, but she followed.

And then he felt her lips again… 

They started to kiss each other passionately, embracing and caressing each other like there's no tomorrow. He stroked her hair… it felt like stroking Aerith's hair.

Every moment of their kissing made him remember everything from the past… from the first time he met Aerith until her death… 

"But this girl is not Aerith…" he decided quietly. But she feels like her… and tastes like her… and smells like her…

"I love you, Cloud, I always have," she said softly.

His eyes widened upon hearing that. He instantly pushed her away from himself. "Wh… what?" he asked. He froze when he saw that tears were streaming down her face.

…and she bowed down her head and slowly removed her glasses… and looked up at him again…

Seeing those achingly familiar green eyes made him want to cry tears of joy…

She smiled bitterly at him. She didn't have the black eyeshadow and the black eyeliner around her eyes… and she didn't look so pale anymore with the foundation. Instead, she looked like the way she used to be: simple but very beautiful. 

He could not believe what he was seeing. "Oh God, please, if this is a dream, may I never wake up," he mindlessly whispered out loud as he stared into her eyes.

She giggled upon hearing him say that, "Cloud, this is not a dream… I'm here!" she said with a voice that seemed to falter. She wanted to cry. At last, he knows.

*** 

======================================= 

to be continued…..

Author's Note: WHEEEEE! The play is over! Maybe I can proceed….. sooner or later…. =_=' But I have to get more sleep first because rehearsals were really nasty and made me lose a lot of sleep…. =_='


	12. One Song

Us Against the Music

By: General Quistis

===========================================

Author's Note: Geez… I'm back! @o@' The week of February 15-21 was hell week because it was the week of the play… I couldn't even continue the story during that time… but really, during breaks in between my rehearsals and while I'm waiting backstage… and also contemplating on some of my lines in the play, I got to think of more ideas for this fic. So… here's the twelfth installment for _Us Against the Music_. And yes, the song that Rufus will be softly singing here at the first part and in some of the other places in this fic is entitled _Miss You Love_ and is sung by my ultimately favourite band, Silverchair. I think that most of their songs fit Rufus ShinRa. Mwahahahaha. =) Care to listen?

Twelve: One Song

            Rufus was just lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling without blinking. He had this frown on his face while softly singing a song

_Millionaires say "Got a big shot deal"_

_And thrown it all away but…_

_But I'm not too sure how I'm supposed to feel_

_Or what I'm supposed to say but…_

He was interrupted when the door just burst open and there was this drunk Vincent Valentine who just entered groggily. Rufus instantly got up and stared blankly at his bandmate. Following Vincent was Sephiroth who was laughing heartily at something that he could not even understand. Rufus raised an eyebrow as he watched Vincent approach the bed and just plopped down beside him, sighing in a somewhat ecstatic way and then dozing off. Rufus moved slightly away from Vincent and turned his gaze to Sephiroth who was on his way to the mini bar and got himself a bottle of vodka. He quickly opened it and then began to gulp down the contents.

Rufus turned his gaze towards the door, expecting two or more people to barge in, but there was none. Sephiroth walked to the door, still laughing, and then closed it. Then he stopped laughing.

Rufus stared annoyingly at him. "Don't you think that's enough?" he asked.

"What's enough?" Sephiroth asked.

"You, drinking." Rufus pointed out.

"It's too much of not enough. Besides, I'm not yet drunk. That guy beside you _is_." He pointed out before drinking again and then sat down on the couch by the bed. "You know what, he almost saw my mommy when we entered the elevator. It's good that he's too drunk to even look at her. She hid her face with her clipboard and stepped out of the elevator on the 4th floor instead of the 7th floor where she's really supposed to be heading to check on some of her scientists." He explained, wanting to change the subject.

Rufus stared at Vincent in disgust. He somewhat hated the smell of alcohol because it reminded him so much of his own father, but he just shrugged off the thought before turning back to Sephiroth, "What's your mother's problem? How come she doesn't want to face this guy over here?" he asked.

"She's still guilty about what she did to him in the past. But anyway, I hope she gets over it. Vinny's really taking everything seriously. At the bar, he ordered all the hard drinks he could take and that's how he got into that current state where he is now." Sephiroth pointed out before putting down the bottle of vodka on top of the bedside table and then crossed his legs. "So, what happened when we left?" he asked.

Rufus just got off from the bed and removed his white jacket and then his white vest, leaving the black long-sleeved turtleneck and his white pants on. He was already wearing his bedroom slippers, Sephiroth noticed, as he walked to the window and pulled a cord which separated the red drapes, revealing the lovely but mysterious view outside his window. Sephiroth stared in awe for a few moments before speaking up again, "You seldom do that." He said.

"Do what?" Rufus asked mindlessly.

"Fully pulling those curtains apart so that you can see the whole of Midgar from your bedroom itself… like how you would see it from your office." Sephiroth explained.

Rufus shoved his hands inside his pockets and then smirked. "Cloud left for a while; I don't know where he went, but he took one of my cars. He thinks that I am the devil's advocate when it comes to his love life." He explained.

"Who doesn't?" Sephiroth said with a stiff tone which made Rufus turn around to look at him with disbelief in his eyes. Although he didn't say anything, Sephiroth easily read his thoughts by looking into his cold blue eyes. He laughed rather mockingly at Rufus before saying, "I think the reason why you're saying that is because you are in denial of your own love." 

Rufus clenched his fists and removed his hands from his pockets. "That's what you think." He said coolly.

Sephiroth smirked at him, "That's what _you_ think." He said in the same manner.

The two were silent for a few seconds, just staring at each other's eyes like they're reading each other's thoughts. Rufus narrowed his eyes on him.

"You know, Prettier Than Pink's supposed to be performing for the Mayor tonight… but it got cancelled because of their _reckless_ lead guitarist who just went off saying that she's going to get some fresh air, and then did not come back again." Sephiroth pointed out, wanting to change the subject.

"Where's Reno anyway?" Rufus asked, not interested about their competitor.

Sephiroth thought for a while, somewhat surprised at Rufus, "He's with Elena. She went with us to the bar in the Wall Market… well actually, it's just me and Vinny who…" he trailed off when Rufus shook his head in annoyance and just went to the bathroom.

Sephiroth laughed out loud again.

Inside the bathroom, Rufus could still hear him laughing mockingly. He stared at his own reflection on the mirror rather angrily as he clenched his fists. He was wondering why his friends just couldn't leave him alone whenever he's got problems to think of. He wanted to be alone…

But still he doesn't want to be lonely.

"Bloody hell, what's the difference anyway?" he muttered miserably as he relaxed a little as if accepting a bad fate that is already present in his life. He raked his fingers through his hair before he removed his black long-sleeved turtleneck and then stared at the reflection of his own upper body on the mirror. He checked his left ear: one piercing (a silver stud earring).

He was wearing a gold chain necklace with his name on it. A silver ring on his right thumb and another one on his left middle finger. An expensive gold watch around his left wrist. He smiled smugly at himself. "I'm one hell of a handsome guy, ain't I?" he asked out loud with an arrogant look and tone as he flipped his hair again and then proceeded to the bathtub.

Sephiroth heard the sound of running water coming from inside the bathroom. He shook his head in disbelief. "Poor guy," he thought silently. He was able to hear the "I'm one hell of handsome guy, ain't I?" from inside the bathroom. "And awfully stuck-up too…" Sephiroth muttered, as if continuing what Rufus had said out loud to himself. He checked the digital clock on top of the bedside table which read "00:00".

Midnight.

Sephiroth sighed heavily before he got up from the couch. He was tired too, but it doesn't show in his eyes. He lazily plopped down on the bed beside Vincent and then immediately fell asleep.

When Rufus got out of the bathroom thirty minutes later, he only had his white silk boxers on and his satin slippers. He frowned angrily upon seeing his two friends on his bed, sleeping. "Damn!" he thought in annoyance before he grabbed his robe and just marched out of his own room, proceeding to Sephiroth's bedroom instead and just decided to sleep there.

But he dreamt of something he hadn't been expecting to dream of before… and it gave him a good night's sleep.

            Aerith slowly entered Tifa's hotel room, wanting to check if her best friend is still awake. 

She is.

…and she's lying on the bed, crouched in pain; she was holding her head and she seemed to be hyperventilating and sweating too much. She was also whimpering softly… and it appeared like she was also crying.

Aerith gasped in shock that her smile instantly faded. "Tifa!" she ran to her friend and assisted her. "Tifa, are you alright?"

Tifa looked up at her friend. "Aerith… it hurts… so badly… I… I can't take it…" she said with a voice that seemed to falter. She could not concentrate in looking at Aerith… the pain was too much.

"Hang on, I'll call Yuffie…" Aerith let her go and proceeded to the door, but before she could get out, she heard a thud. She froze in horror before she slowly turned around and saw Tifa sprawled on the floor, unconscious.

*** 

_9 months later…_

            It was another full house.

_I should try to walk away from you now,_

_But I need someone to hold me right now…_

_I don't know if this could last,_

_But let me have this one single moment,_

_At least for now,_

_I could say that you belong to me…_

_And leave me softly tomorrow before the morning light shines._

_Don't say goodbye to me._

_Don't say you're sorry too._

_Don't make yourself feel guilty,_

_I've been lonely too._

_Don't say you love me too._

_Don't say you'll never leave._

_Don't make this hard for me,_

_I've been lonely too…_

Despite the pain, she was still playing. She wanted to pretend that everything's going to be okay, but she cannot. She doesn't want to use all her money just for medical treatment. Besides, her earnings are not yet enough.

Aerith could see that she is feeling uncomfortable already but she just kept quiet. Yuffie and Elena were so unaware of what was happening because Aerith didn't even bother to tell them due to Tifa's request. Even the media doesn't know about it… not even their manager or the record company where they belong.

But at that moment, Aerith was thankful that it was already their last song for the evening because she wanted to leave the big auditorium already, get rid of all the gothic make-up on her face and head for Sector 6 where her old home was located. She would meet him there… but she doesn't want to leave Tifa alone.

Finally, when the song ended, Aerith immediately announced, "Thank you very much for watching. I hope you enjoyed this bloody wonderful evening. Good night!" and put down her guitar and then ran backstage, making some of the audience and her other bandmates perplexed at her sudden move.

Tifa swallowed hard as she moved away from the keyboard. The audience was still cheering for them, but she didn't mind. She just wanted to rest.

She left Yuffie and Elena taking all the credit from the cheers as she proceeded backstage. Upon reaching her own dressing room, she instantly entered it and shut the door and locked it. When she looked at the dresser, she almost shrieked when she saw Rufus ShinRa standing beside it with a stiff look on his face. She took a step backward, "A…Aren't you supposed to be in your own band's concert in Sector 1?" she asked.

"Isn't this Sector 1?" he asked coldly.

She swallowed hard. "N…no, this is Sector 7…" she replied rather uneasily. She was trying to stop herself from smiling at him. He smiled rather slyly at her, "Oh, I must've gotten lost on my way to the concert that I ended up here instead. I thought this was my dressing room." He told her.

She laughed gently, but stopped when she felt pulsating pain on her head again. "Uhm… please, get out. I need to change…"

"We need to talk, Tifa," he told her.

She was just silent.

"What… do you want to say to me?" she asked with an uneasily smile on her face. She couldn't take the pain in her head anymore… she wanted to collapse. "No… not in front of him…" she thought silently.

"You left without saying a proper farewell." He pointed out.

Silence.

She tried to think clearly, but everything seemed so blurred… but she hoped that she was correct when she said, "I just wanted to know if Cloud was alright." 

He was silent for a while as if reading her thoughts by looking into her crimson eyes. With that, he stiffly responded, "And I would just like to inform you how bad you are at the keyboard. No matter what happens, I will make sure that my band is still number one…"

She interrupted him by laughing. "If you're just… going to… tell me how bad I am in playing, then I'm sorry, I am not in the mood to listen right now because I'm having a bad migraine, so if you'll excuse me…" she approached him and pushed him towards the door. She proceeded to hold the doorknob and just when she was about to open it, he got her wrist and held it rather tightly that it felt so painful for her.

She sneered at him, "Why don't you just go back to your own concert and stop bothering me?" she asked him rather impatiently.

"Tell you what, you convince your band to split and I'll make sure you have everything you want." He told her.

"You're trying to blackmail me…" she began.

"This is a deal I'm making with you. I don't know why the hell you hold your concerts the same night that we hold ours. It's like you're doing it on purpose already…"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not the one planning the schedule! It's Eris…" she cut him off, but he cut her off again, "Well then tell your goddamn goth friend to…"

She touched her own forehead and pushed hard against it. "…please, just leave… I…" she trailed off. "Why am I telling you this anyway? Just go to her and tell her that!" she pulled her hand away from him and walked towards the dresser, but when she reached it, she just collapsed.

Rufus stared at her unconscious body on the floor before he slowly approached it with a cold look on his face… he slowly knelt down beside her and touched her hair. "I knew it…" he thought silently.

That's what had him worried for several months that she was away. She wasn't well enough. But she was too stubborn to leave because she felt that her life is threatened each time she's in ShinRa.

"But I'm there for her! Can't she understand that?" he thought bitterly with a hurtful look in his eyes as he got his mobile phone upon hearing it ringing. He checked the caller I.D. and it read _Sephiroth_. He answered the call but did not say anything.

"Rufus, where the hell are you?! Cloud just walked out after the concert and you're…"

He did not let Sephiroth finish. He hung up. 

_Make room for the prey coz I'm coming in with what I wanna say_

_But it's gonna hurt;_

_And I love the pain: a breeding ground for hate but_

_I'm not, not sure, not too sure how it feels to handle everyday_

_Like the one that just passed in the crowds of all the people…_

_Remember, today, I've no respect for you,_

_And I miss you, love…_

He was softly singing the song as he carefully picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the dressing room. The whole backstage was deserted, and Rufus expected that everyone would be at the other side for autograph-signing and picture taking. He could still hear the fans screaming, but the sound was beginning to get fainter each time he would move away going to the parking lot at the back.

            "Finally, we're back here. I'm so tired! I hate it when fangirls scream at my face… and I think one of the guys there had a crush on me. It's so disgusting!" Reno spat before plopping down on the couch of the music room.

Sephiroth put down his guitar case on the floor and stretched his arms with a frown on his face, "If I find Rufus and Cloud, I might slice them into two." He muttered in annoyance.

"Chill out, man. Maybe they've got girls up their asses that's why they're doin' that." Reno pointed out with a naughty smile on his face.

"Are they _that _girl-deprived already?!" Sephiroth asked in disbelief.

"No. Cloud's seeing Eris, don't you know?" Vincent asked with a solemn look on his face.

Silence.

"Aw, c'mon, Sephiroth, don't tell me you don't know? It's very obvious that those two are together." Reno told him.

"But… how come the media doesn't know?" Sephiroth asked.

"Cloud just knows how to hide several secrets… but when it comes to hiding much deeper and darker ones, trust Rufus ShinRa, our keyboardist." Reno pointed out before letting out a burp. "Heheheh… Excuse me," he apologized without a hint of sheepishness on his face.

"Well, where do you think is Rufus ShinRa?" Sephiroth asked with a sly smile on his face.

"In his office?" Vincent suggested.

"Honeybee Inn?" Reno suggested.

"Impossible," Sephiroth argued.

"Why not?" Reno asked in protest.

"Because he is not the type of person who'd go to the Honeybee Inn. Maybe he's just…" Sephiroth trailed off when they heard someone knocking on the door. "Yeah?" he called out.

"Kyah… Sir?"

Silence.

"Okay, who'll answer the door? It's Kya-ha-ha." Vincent muttered.

"You do it, Reno. You're the one who's used to talking to that woman," Sephiroth urged with a low tone.

"DAMN! No way!" Reno protested out loud.

"SHHHHHH!" Vincent and Sephiroth both said in unison, surprising Reno. Reno snorted. "I'm not talking to her." He snapped.

"Well who will?" Vincent asked.

"Not I. She disgusts me." Sephiroth muttered.

The door burst open and there was Scarlet with an annoyed look on her face, "I don't know what you men are doing in here altogether and it's taking all of you so long to open the door so don't mind me busting in but I'd like to know where President Rufus is because he's supposed to attend a 7:00 meeting tonight but he wasn't there!" she snapped.

Silence.

"He was in the concert with us but he left early and I don't know where he went to. Now could you please step out of the room? We're discussing something." Sephiroth pointed out before turning away from her and faced Reno again, "You were saying something about sluts wearing red shoes and red dresses?" he asked with a mocking tone.

Reno tried to stifle his laughter but he just burst out laughing, not being able to control it.

Vincent quickly glanced at Scarlet's facial expression before turning to Sephiroth. She looked very angry at the three of them. 

Just when Scarlet was about to leave, Reno spoke up again, "Uhm… Ma'am, I think President Rufus went to the Honeybee Inn to meet Miss Lockheart. Remember when I told you that they had a rendezvous there? Hehehehe…"

"KYAH! Why, I never…" Scarlet just clenched her fists and bit her lower lip before marching out of the room and slammed the door angrily.

"Whoa… she really hates Tifa." Sephiroth said with a look of awe on his face.

"Indeed…" Vincent said with a slight frown on his face.

Silence.

"Now what?" Vincent asked.

"Maybe Rufus is just in his room sleeping. He looked somewhat bummed and sleepy during the concert and his voice sounded groggy while singing." Reno suggested.

"I'll go check." Vincent told them before he left the room.

            Tifa slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the high ceiling. The ceiling looked too familiar… and when she scanned her whole surroundings, the more she realized that the whole place was really very familiar. She had been there before…

What caught her attention were two people dressed in white standing by the window and looking at a clipboard with some papers attached to it. She recognized the other one as Rufus ShinRa, but she doesn't know the other one.

She slowly got up, grunting softly. It made the two turn to her.

"Oh dear… please don't get up yet…" the woman in a white laboratory coat told her with a gentle smile on her face as she ran to her and then gently helped her lie down again.

Rufus still had the usual cold look on his face as he approached Tifa. "I had to bring you here for proper treatment, I'm so sorry." He told her.

Tifa just stared at him with a perplexed look on his face. She turned to look at her wrist, the one Rufus had held too tightly. His grip had given her a light bruise. Then, she noticed that a dextrose was attached to the back of her hand too. "This is not a hospital, is it?" she asked with a soft tone.

"No. President Rufus just decided to bring you here instead of a hospital so that you'll be more comfortable. Besides, it's to avoid more scandals. Not everybody knows about your condition, right?" the woman asked with a gentle smile on her face.

Rufus stepped forward. "Tifa, Lucrecia. Chief Scientist." He introduced.

"Pleased to meet you, Tifa." Lucrecia said with a sweet smile on her face.

Tifa stared hard into Lucrecia's eyes, shuddering at the sudden memory of Sephiroth. "N…nice to meet you too, ma'am." She replied rather weakly before turning her gaze to Rufus. He just looked down at her coldly, "You're lucky I was there when you lost consciousness." He told her.

"Well… thank you," she said softly. Lucrecia examined the looks on their faces before smiling weakly at her, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Don't worry, you'll be okay now. I made sure that the drug I injected into your system an hour ago has melted the tumor in your brain caused by the infection." She explained.

Tifa's eyes widened. "Tumor? Infection?!" she asked in disbelief.

"That wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you leaving without permission." He told her, wanting to make her feel guilty about her current situation.

She blinked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lucrecia chuckled lightly. "When President Rufus brought you here in ShinRa four hours ago, we took you to the lab first and I did an MRI on you and an EEG. I decided to just use the most expensive drug we have to melt the tumor in your brain. I formulated it before the JENOVA Project several years ago, and I only perfected it now. I'll do another MRI and EEG on you 12 hours later so you'd better rest now and relax." She explained before moving away from them, "Well then, it's 4 am. I'd better get some sleep. You too, President Rufus. It's been a long night," she instructed.

Rufus couldn't help but smile at her motherliness. "Thank you, Lucrecia," he said, but in his usual stiff manner. With that, Lucrecia left the room, leaving the two of them alone.

He turned back to her with a cold look on his face; his eyes revealing nastiness also etched in his origin. It made Tifa feel so intimidated and afraid that she wanted to cry, but she just decided to pull herself together. There was just something in his icy blue eyes that made her feel somewhat relaxed even if he was frowning at her. 

He sneered at her, "What do you have to say for yourself now?" his eyes narrowed at her while asking the question.

She was silent for a while as she stared hard into his eyes. Finally, she smiled slightly and spoke up with a gentle tone, "Thank you," 

He just examined the look in her crimson eyes which made his heart sink. "Hmf…" he flipped his hair and got a foot stool, dragged it towards the bed and sat down on it. His face was already leveled with hers. "I'll just stay here and make sure that you are well-guarded. I don't want you escaping again, you understand? What Lucrecia had given you is very expensive and it cost me 900,000,000 Gil plus the fee for your MRI and EEG. That drug is so expensive that only a few people can afford it. This wouldn't have happened if you didn't leave immediately and I could've given you the proper treatment." He told her with a sneer.

"900,000,000 Gil?!" she asked in disbelief. She wondered how the hell she is going to pay for that.

"But since I am Rufus ShinRa and I'm already showing my kindness to a commoner such as you, you don't owe me anything, as far as I'm concerned…" he reached out for her bruised wrist and touched it gently.

Tifa jerked slightly because of the feel of his touch against her skin; and then she looked at his face… he still maintained his usual stiff facial expression but there was something in his eyes that changed. He spoke up again with a low tone, "…but you still have to pay me." He told her.

Silence.

"I… I thought you said that I don't owe you anything…" she began, but he cut her off by releasing her wrist and then speaking up again, "…Yes you do." He leaned forward until his face was only an inch away from hers. Having him near her like that made her want to shrink. She began to feel nervous. "Oh no… please… don't tell me he's one of those disgusting men… don't tell me he's just like his father?!" she thought silently with wide eyes.

She froze when she heard him say softly, "Sing for me,"

Silence.

He moved away from her and but stared at her for a long time. She also stared back, but they were not saying anything. Finally, he gave up and he slowly got up from his seat and proceeded to the door, but just when he was about to leave, he stopped in his tracks upon hearing her sweet and soulful voice:

_It's just my imagination_

_A big hallucination_

_About you and me together_

_And watching the stars.___

_It's just my daydreams_

_Telling me about you_

_And me…___

_And you tell me you love me…_

Her voice began to falter as she felt tears filling her eyes, but she still continued to sing the chorus:

_Singing softly, la la la la la la la…_

_But you cannot hear; Oh…_

_If only you can hear…_

_La la la la la la la…_

_And you're just above me…_

_You feel me singing…_

_La la la la la la la…_

_We fall together like the stars_

_Singing softly, la la la la la la la…_

Rufus was looking at her quietly while reading the expression on her eyes. She just swallowed hard and looked away, gazing at the stars outside the window. He stood still for a few seconds before he finally approached her and decided to lie down on the bed beside her.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Rufus spoke up with a soft smile on his face, "We should sing a duet some time." He murmured gently.

Finally, she felt at ease. "You look tired… you should sleep now." She told him solemnly.

He slowly reached for her bruised wrist and held it gently before he smiled rather gently at her… the kind of smile that surprised her. With that, he closed his eyes and quickly dozed off.

She was perplexed… but a big part of her felt like she was in heaven. Somehow, she loved Rufus all those times that she wasn't with him… but she wouldn't tell. She just hoped he'd get the clue whenever she sings to him. She carefully leaned closer to him and gave him a gentle kiss on his lips that went on for five seconds before she just rested her head on his shoulder and then finally fell asleep.

===================================================== 

to be continued…. =_='

Author's Note: Remember the song that Tifa sung from Chapter 9? I included it here… this time, with the chorus.


	13. The Tragedy of Reno and Elena

Thirteen: The Tragedy of Reno and Elena

            The morning sunlight seeped through the window of Reno's room. He slowly opened his eyes upon hearing the sound of chirping birds. "Oh no…" he muttered miserably.

The door burst open and there was Sephiroth, exclaiming, "Rise and shine! We're going to Junon for a concert!" he told him.

"The concert's at 7 in the evening," Reno said sleepily.

"But there are other activities before that, so let's go." Sephiroth told him before he pulled off the blanket, revealing Reno in blue boxers. "Man, you sleep in those?" he remarked with a disgusted smile on his face.

Reno instantly sat up and snatched his blanket off Sephiroth's grasp and covered himself with it again, "Real men wear boxers, mind you," he said before yawning and then proceeding to speak up again, "I'm tired. I want to get some shut-eye. You go ahead to the concert. I still have Turk duties to do." He told him.

Sephiroth frowned slightly, thinking silently, "How come it seems like Vinny and I are the only remaining members of our band?"

Reno was beginning to doze off again and Sephiroth waited until he was able to do so. With that, he proceeded to search for the sleeping guy's mobile phone and checked the inbox. "Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena…" He raised his eyebrow and went to the Sent Messages folder. He read one of the messages there, "Hey there, Elena. The guys and I are having a concert in Junon. I'll meet you there at the bar." 

Sephiroth's frown deepened. "What the hell?! You're still making connections with Elena?!" he cried out loud, making Reno jerk up in surprise. Now fully awake because he realized that Sephiroth had touched his things, he rushed to the silver-haired guy and grabbed his mobile phone away from him. "What are you doing reading my messages?" he demanded.

"And what are you doing sending those messages to Elena?!" Sephiroth argued.

"She's my girlfriend, okay?" Reno admitted with an annoyed look on his face. 

"Don't tell me this has been going on even before they started their band?" Sephiroth asked before crossing his arms.

Reno suddenly had an idea, "Band? What band?" he asked innocently.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you know?! The girl band with Tifa and Yuffie in it?!" he demanded, losing patience.

"Oh, that! Ahahahahahahaha! Damn it, Seph! This girl is different from _that_ Elena from Prettier Than Pink!" Reno told him.

Silence.

Reno laughed again. "Sephiroth, my girlfriend is _not_ Elena the Turk." He elaborated, but behind him, he was crossing his fingers.

Sephiroth blinked. "Really now?" he asked, his green eyes narrowing.

Reno nodded. "I swear." He told him with a serious look on his face.

Silence.

"Just get dressed and be ready in 15 minutes. The chopper's already waiting for us. I'll just go to Rufus and wake him up." Sephiroth told him before leaving the room.

Reno sighed in relief the moment Sephiroth got out of the room. "DAMN! I almost got caught! He's gonna kill me if he finds out that our rival band's drummer is my girlfriend!" he thought in panic before proceeding to the bathroom, leaving his mobile phone on top of his bedside table. While doing his business there, it began to ring.

He instantly rushed out of the bathroom wearing absolutely nothing and then grabbed his phone, not even bothering to check the caller I.D. "Yeah, it's Reno. Talk to me, baby." He greeted with a sly smile and a sly tone.

"Eh… hello, Reno." Greeted the person from the other line.

Silence.

Reno felt rather embarrassed. "Eh… Cloud! Ehehehe… sorry... 'bout that." He said sheepishly.

Cloud was silent for a while before saying, "Listen, I… can't make it to the concert because I had to… go to Kalm. Barret asked me to babysit Marlene coz he's doing something else."

Reno frowned. "Wh…what?!" he asked with a tone of disbelief. He shook his head in confusion, "But what do you want me to do? Play the lead guitars for you? I can't do that!" he replied.

"You can all just do acoustic versions of every song we have. Sephiroth and Vincent are good at those. You can get by without me." Cloud told him.

"But why?" Reno asked.

Cloud hung up.

"Bullshit!" Reno threw his phone on the bed and scratched his head. "Damn… how the hell am I going to say this to Sephiroth…" he muttered miserably.

Then, his phone began to ring again. He mindlessly got it and answered the call, "Yeah?"

"Reno?"

His face lit up upon hearing the voice. "Elena!" he said.

"Where are we meeting again?" she asked with a sleepy tone.

"You know that bar in Junon some blocks away from the hotel?" he asked.

"You see, I don't know if we're still going to have our concert there… but I'll still convince Yuffie to go there with me." Elena explained with a tired voice.

He raised an eyebrow, "What? You're also scheduled for a concert in Junon tonight?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Why? You too?" she asked.

Reno frowned with a confused look on his face. "Y…yeah… but anyway, how come your concert's not gonna push through?" he asked curiously before going to the bathroom to get his clothes ready.

"Eris didn't come back. Tifa's missing. I don't know where the hell they went." Elena explained.

Reno snickered. "Well, you're not alone! You know that spiky-headed jerk? He's excusing himself so that he can babysit a little girl. So that leaves only the four of us guys without a lead guitarist for tonight. Maybe we'll just do acoustic versions, just like what he suggested. Damn!" he explained.

She giggled, "Is that so?" she asked with a sweet tone. "Oh well… but maybe Tifa's just visiting some of her old friends in Sector 7. I don't know about Eris. Maybe she… got stoned or something." She said with a hesitant tone. 

"So that leaves you and Yuffie: the drummer and the bassist. What can you do with that?" he asked.

"Well… I told her that we could still perform… after all, I can still play the guitar!" she suggested.

"That's so strange… your guitarist and our guitarist are missing; and your keyboardist is gone too… why do I have this strange feeling that Rufus is going to…" he trailed off when he heard Sephiroth's voice from outside the bathroom, yelling angrily. He lowered his voice, "I'll just see you later tonight, okay? Bye," he hung up quickly and put on his clothes before going back to his room. "What's your problem?" he asked casually before putting his mobile phone inside the right side pocket of his pants.

"Guess who I saw with Rufus," Sephiroth told him.

Reno thought for a while before laughing teasingly, "Let me guess… you love Vincent but you found out that he slept with Rufus last night so now you're jealous?" he asked with a teasing look on his face.

Sephiroth clenched his fists and his teeth. "Don't tell me you believe that damn rumor?!" he demanded.

"Okay, okay, okay, relax. Tell me what happened." Reno told him.

"Tifa Lockheart." Sephiroth said simply.

Reno's mouth dropped open, remembering what Elena had mentioned to him. "DAMN! No, really?" he asked, wanting to verify.

"Wanna see for yourself? The two are asleep in the room next to his. I don't know what's happening anymore!" Sephiroth told him.

Reno felt somewhat mortified but confused at the same time. "I'm… speechless…" was all he could say.

"If you're speechless, how come you just spoke up, saying you're speechless?" Sephiroth asked.

"Oh never mind! I wanna see them! Are they naked?" Reno asked with an excited smile on his face as he led the way to the hallway going to the elevators.

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows at him, "What kind of question is that?" he asked in disgust.

When the elevator door opened, Vincent was just stepped out. He blocked their way, "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Let us through." Sephiroth told him.

"Where are you going?" Vincent repeated sternly.

"Rufus is upstairs with Tifa!" Reno pointed out.

"I know, so what?" Vincent asked.

"Just let us pass, Vinny." Sephiroth told him.

"Rufus cannot leave Tifa here. Just let him stay with her. We can have our concert without him. He needs to take care of her because he told me that she's under observation from an illness." Vincent explained.

"Oh right. Just as I've expected: It will only be just the three of us tonight." Reno told them.

"Why? Where's Cloud?" Vincent asked.

"The spiky-headed jerk just called up and said that he's doing a babysitting job for that Barret guy…" Reno explained.

"Damn… now it's time for acoustic guitars tonight…" Sephiroth muttered miserably.

"What's wrong with singing acoustically?" Vincent asked.

"I can't go wild and scream like crazy if we're doing acoustic performances! We have to be solemn… and our voices have to sound like we're serenading squeamish fangirls. You're the only one who has perfected that art, Ballad Boy," Sephiroth explained.

Vincent just raised his eyebrows at him and smiled slightly, "I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you very much, Sephiroth. So I'll be the front-liner for tonight?" he asked.

Sephiroth just shook his head in disbelief. "Never mind. Let's just go. We'll be late for a photo shoot! If Rufus wants to stay here with Tifa, then so be it. I'll just call her damn bandmates and tell them that he kidnapped their keyboardist." he told them.

"Wouldn't that cause trouble?" Vincent asked with a concerned tone.

"Whatever, Vincent. Prettier Than Pink spells trouble themselves by competing with us. Did you know that they're also set for a concert in Junon tonight also?" Sephiroth asked.

"Whoa. That's… bad!" Reno told him with a convincing tone.

Vincent just kept quiet on their way to the chopper.

            Rufus watched as the chopper flew off into the skies. He just stood still by the window with a blank look on his face.

"Rufus," Tifa began from the bed.

He slowly turned around to face her again. "Don't mind them, Tifa. As promised, I'll stay here with you," he told her with a stiff look on his face before proceeding to the door. "Now what do you want for breakfast?" he asked her.

She thought for a while, reflecting on their current situation. "They're going where?" she asked, wanting to verify.

"Junon." He replied.

Silence.

"We're… actually supposed to have our concert there too…" she admitted.

Silence.

"You're trying to compete with us on purpose, huh?" he asked with a teasing smile on his face before he approached her again and sat down on the bed beside her.

She just smiled gently at him, "Anything just to see you, Rufus," she wanted to say out loud, but she just kept quiet and gazed up into his icy blue eyes.

He flipped his hair and patted her head gently, "I just hope our bands' rivalry against each other wouldn't affect the way we relate to each other." He told her before he got up again and proceeded outside.

Tifa sighed heavily the moment he left the room. She instantly got her mobile phone and began to call Aerith. After a few rings, her best friend answered rather groggily, "Yeah?"

"Aerith, I… I can't make it to the concert tonight in Junon because…"

Aerith giggled, "Oh, Tifa. Don't worry. I'm sure Yuffie and Elena are going to cancel it." She explained.

Tifa blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I can't make it too. I'm… busy with something." Aerith replied.

Tifa's eyes widened. "What?! But… the people who will watch…" she trailed off when the door opened and Rufus entered with Rude following close behind him carrying a tray of food. Tifa smiled weakly at him as she listened to Aerith's explanation, "They have LWD for tonight. Nothing to worry." And then hung up.

"Who are you talking to?" Rufus asked with a stiff tone before he instructed Rude to put the tray of food down on the bedside table.

"Eris," she replied rather hesitantly, although she really wanted to be honest to him as much as possible.

He frowned slightly. "Hmf… I'm sorry for telling you this but I really do not like the attitude of your friend." He told her with an arrogant smile on his face.

Tifa was quiet for a while, thinking of what to say, "If you only know that it's Aerith…" she thought silently before replying with a sweet smile on her face, "She isn't really that bad. She's just like that to protect her own image. Behind that horrible make-up is a really sweet and charming girl!" 

"Whatever. Just eat this," Rufus got a bowl of cereal and scooped out a spoonful, ready to feed it to her. "Get out of here, Rude. And tell Heidegger to cancel all the meetings and the conferences that I'm supposed to attend today." He commanded.

"Yes, sir," Rude responded before leaving the room.

Tifa narrowed her eyes on Rufus as she smiled slightly at him, "You cannot just judge people by their appearance," she told him.

"Oh yeah? Well, what's my first impression on you?" he asked.

She thought for a while before replying, "Well, you were on the enemy's side before so I thought you're the same as your father… even though there was one point wherein I really thought what kind of person you really are…"

"You see what I mean? Everyone judges people by their appearance," Rufus argued before forcing a spoonful inside her mouth. She felt stunned even as she was chewing. After swallowing, Rufus continued to make her eat spoonfuls, like he was trying to prevent her from talking further by just continuously feeding her. Noticing this, she just kept quiet. 

Then, he was interrupted when the Rude entered again with a cordless phone on his hand, "Uhm… President Rufus, sir…" he began rather hesitantly.

Rufus handed the bowl of cereal to Tifa like telling her to eat by herself. He turned to Rude.

"For you, sir. It's Mister Sephiroth." Rude said before handing the phone to him.

Rufus's frown deepened before grabbing the phone and then spoke up immediately to Sephiroth on the other line, "What?"

The whole room was silent and Sephiroth's voice was too loud, so Tifa and Rude were able to hear it: "Goddamn it, Rufus! I want you to leave that girl right now and go here to Junon! Do you know what that Reno did? He left after we arrived at the hotel! We're supposed to go to a Press Con but then he's gone! I've been trying to reach him but he wouldn't answer my calls or my messages!"

"Why don't you just send out some bomb-sniffing dogs around Junon so that you can find him immediately?" Rufus suggested rather blankly.

"I've sent out members of SOLDIER to look for him. I'm already taking advantage of my position as First Class Soldier… and I don't feel so comfortable about it because I know that I should do that without the General's command." Sephiroth told him.

"Pshaw! Who cares about Heidegger? Anyway, you can perform even without Reno. You and Vincent can do a duet of acoustic tunes. Adieu." Rufus hung up and handed the phone to Rude. "If he calls again, tell him I'm busy." He commanded.

"Yes, sir," Rude replied.

Rufus turned to Tifa again, but when he realized that Rude hasn't left the room yet, he turned back to him and said stiffly, "I don't need you here anymore. Go back to your work."

Rude hesitated for a while before saying, "Uhm… Sir,"

"What?" Rufus demanded impatiently.

Rude swallowed hard before saying, "I… I think I know where Reno is…" he said.

Silence.

"Where?" Rufus asked with a serious look on his face. Tifa was just listening quietly as she continued to eat.

"With Elena."

            "That guy is going to pay… the three of them…" Sephiroth muttered miserably.

"Reno, Rufus and Cloud?" Vincent asked mindlessly as they sat down on their respective seats in the VIP table inside the Press Con room of the hotel.

There were three empty seats and Sephiroth did not like the feeling that there would be only the two of them to answer the questions. "Hmf… Never mind, Vincent. If the PRESS asks some questions about them, we'll just answer them as long as we know the answers…" Sephiroth told them.

Vincent just sighed heavily before speaking up through the microphone, "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this… Press Con… here in Junon. I'm sorry to say that we're not complete right now, but Sephiroth and I will try to answer all your questions as far as we could."

"Where are the other three anyway?" one of the reporters asked.

Before Sephiroth could answer the question, Vincent spoke up ahead of him because he knows that Sephiroth is going to tell the truth… and it could lead to more scandals and issues. "He's in Midgar busy with his Presidential duties, that's why he isn't here right now… but maybe in our next concert in Nibelheim, he'll be there. Cloud is helping him… and Reno got sick so he had to stay upstairs in his suite." 

Sephiroth eyed him rather stiffly before clearing his throat. "Yes, that's right," he said as he rolled his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"Is it true that you're gay and you have a relationship with Mister Valentine, sir?" a reporter asked him.

Silence.

"Whoever started that rumor must die." Sephiroth thought silently as Vincent replied, "That is not true."

"Yes, it is not true. Vincent has a girlfriend, how could he possibly be gay if he has a girlfriend?" Sephiroth asked.

"Well… bisexual, then?" a reporter chimed in.

"No." Sephiroth replied.

Vincent was surprised at him, "Girlfriend?" his eyes were asking. Sephiroth just ignored him and continued to answer more of the questions.

            Elena sat still on her chair. She was wearing her old Turk uniform and rose-tinted glasses. She took a quick glance at her watch and sighed heavily. "Good thing nobody suspects me… I wonder what Yuffie's doing right now?" she thought silently as she reached for her glass of mango juice and took a quick sip before turning to the bartender, "You're open in the daytime, huh? Usually bars are open in the evening." She pointed out.

The bartender smiled at her, "We're a restaurant and a bar at the same time so we're open even during the daytime." He explained before proceeding with his work.

"What's taking Reno so long?" she thought silently before the she heard a group of friends chatting in one corner of the bar near the place where she is seated.

"You know, I like the drummer of LWD. He's so cool!" a brunette remarked.

"Ew! He looks like a drug-addict! I like Rufus better. Gods, he's so hot! And Cloud?! I love the way his fingers strum his guitar. Heehee! I wonder how those fingers would feel when he touches my body and… *gasp* Heeheee!" a blonde girl with long curly blonde hair mentioned.

Elena rolled her eyes in disgust.

"What about the other band, Prettier Than Pink?" the brunette asked.

"Man, I can't believe they've got this angsty attitude just like LWD. I like their songs. They all look so sweet but when you listen to their songs, man, you gotta think twice about angels!" a boy among the group mentioned.

"I can't believe they just canceled their concert tonight. I'm looking forward to see Tifa. I just loooove her! She's so sexy and she's so hot!" another boy said.

"Hmf! She's just got those big boobs that's why she's sexy!" the blonde with curly hair chimed in with an annoyed look on her face.

"You're just jealous because you're flat-chested," one of the boys remarked before laughing out loud.

"At least I'm not like Elena, their drummer!" the blonde replied.

Elena almost choked.

The group of friends turned to look at her, "What's wrong with her?" the blonde asked. Then, they decided to just mind their own business.

Elena jerked when someone just began to rub her back as if easing her choking, "Hey, you alright?"

She slowly turned around and smiled at Reno who was wearing dark sunglasses over his eyes and his Turk uniform… but this time, it's properly pressed and he looked… neat. She wanted to cry, "Reno!!! It's so horrible!!!" she wailed before sobbing.

He gave her a hug, but he had this confused look on his face. Almost everyone was eyeing them.

"Eh… Elena, calm down… they're looking at us… you wouldn't wanna get recognize, right?" he whispered hoarsely.

She sniffed and wiped her tears away from under her glasses and got up. "Let's just go some place else," Reno told her as he led the way.

As they finally got out of the bar, he asked, "What's going on with you?" he asked.

"Am I flat-chested?" she asked rather frankly with a hurtful look on her face.

He tried to stifle his laughter as he stared down at her chest. "Well… I…"

"C'mon Reno, answer my question," she snapped impatiently.

He laughed. "Why are you wearing your Turk uniform anyway? What if you get recognized?" he demanded, wanting to change the subject. He wouldn't want to insult her further and cause a commotion.

"Well you're wearing yours too!" she replied.

Silence.

"C'mon, Reno, tell me the truth," she said softly.

"Never mind, you'll call me a pervert," he told her.

"No! I won't, I swear! C'mon, tell me!" she told him.

He took a deep breath before replying, "Must be the clothes that you're wearing… It gives the illusion that… you're… flat as a board." And then he laughed rather boisterously which made her twitch and frown. She clenched her fists, but she just kept quiet until he stopped laughing (which took him around 20 minutes before he fully eased up from laughter).

"Okay, so Sephiroth is mad at me because I'm missing while I'm supposed to be in a Press Con but I'm risking my life here just to talk to you. Did you just want to see me because you wanted to ask if you're flat-chested or not?" he asked with a serious tone.

"No… that's not… the reason. It just came up because I heard some people gossiping about… about our bands and talking about the members of each." She explained softly, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"You know, if people recognize us and they realize that we're together, it's going to be a big scandal." He told her.

"Why?" she asked.

"My band is supposed to be rivals with yours. It's very noticeable and very obvious. And it's so strange; wherever we're having our concert, your band's also there within the area having a concert too! Who the hell is your manager anyway?" he demanded.

"You sound angry. What's wrong if the drummer of LWD turns out to be boyfriend of the drummer of Prettier Than Pink?" she asked with a pout. Then, she lit up and giggled. "Isn't that cute, Reno? We're like Romeo and Juliet! Heehee!" she giggled.

"Oh, please don't start, Elena." He muttered miserably as he rolled his eyes in disgust.

"You know, you're not exactly boyfriend material… but I still hooked up with you," she pointed out.

He somewhat felt uncomfortable upon hearing that. "Well… why are you still here?" he asked rather dumbly.

She held his hand and moved closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, "I know you hated me before and you kept on showering me with insults ever since I became a Turk… and I know that up to now, you are still insulting me… but I really don't mind. I just consider them as _words of endearment_ from you." She said before looking up at him, "But I still…" she trailed off when he held up his hand to her face, like he was commanding her to stop talking, "Oh please, don't say those words. I don't want to hear them," he snapped.

"What's wrong with saying…" she began again, but he cut her off again, "No, no, no, no, no! I don't wanna hear them!"

"Reno, I…"

"No. Shut your mouth, Elena." He warned.

She just smiled at him. "Whatever you say, Reno." She said softly before she moved away.

"You still haven't answered my question: who's your manager?" he asked.

"Who is _your_ manager?" she asked, as if probing.

"Reeve is our manager… at least he's the one whom Rufus and Sephiroth had appointed just recently when the media was asking about it too… and yours is?" he replied rather lazily.

"Can we have lunch first?" she asked.

He suddenly felt his stomach rumbling. "Yeah. Sure." He replied with a smile on his face. He suddenly forgot about his question.

They ate in one of the cheapest restaurants so that no one would suspect anything about their real identities. While eating, Elena brought up something that surprised Reno, "How long can we keep up with this kind of meeting?"

He frowned slightly. "As long as there is LWD and Prettier Than Pink…" he replied rather mindlessly… but he was secretly wondering. "How long?" he thought silently.

"And that will take how many years?" she asked.

Silence.

"You know, it's so unfair… Rufus and Tifa are… together in… Midgar…" Reno hesitated because he saw Elena's eyes widen upon the revelation. "What?! Tifa is with… Rufus?!" she asked in disbelief.

And then she just laughed in joy. 

He frowned slightly, "What's wrong? … Oh, I get it, you find the couple sooo odd because he's too stiff and she's so feisty?" he asked with a sly smile on his face.

She shook her head. "No, I mean… oh never mind… I'm just happy for Tifa," she told him.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Happy for Tifa?" he asked in awe.

"Listen to her songs… who do you think is she dedicating them to?" she asked.

"Eh… one of the song is entitled _Executive Bitch_; I think it's Scarlet," Reno replied with a ridiculous look on his face.

"No, not that! I meant the majority of her so-called love songs." She pointed out.

He laughed out loud, "Damn, Elena! What about Rufus? What do you think of his songs? Isn't it obvious too?"

Silence.

They just laughed.

"Oh, the irony of it all! Hahahahaha!" Elena continued to laugh with Reno.

"Yeah!" he agreed.

"And then us…" she said.

Reno stopped laughing. He just smiled slyly and raised his glass of water at her, proposing a toast. She smiled sweetly at him and got her glass of water. "For Light Within Darkness and Prettier Than Pink." She told him. "May we never always be enemies. I wouldn't wanna be caught in between arguments." He continued.

            After eating, Reno decided to return to the hotel to rehearse with Vincent and Sephiroth. Before he got inside the hotel, he passed through an alley with Elena so that they could say goodbye for a while.

"Here are free tickets for you. I got three from Sephiroth's pocket. But anyway, will I see you tonight?" he asked.

She just took the tickets and smiled sweetly at him, "Bye, Reno," and she gave him a loving embrace and then kissed him on the lips.

He was stunned at first, but before he could return her kiss, she pulled away from him and rushed out of the alley, going ahead inside the hotel. It turns out that she's also staying there with Yuffie…

And their manager.

Reno smiled slightly at himself as he touched his own lips mindlessly. "Who the hell is their manager anyway?" he muttered before taking off his sunglasses and made sure that his Turk uniform is disheveled before proceeding to the hotel.

================================================= 

again… to be continued. ^^'


	14. Clash of the Managers

Fourteen: Clash of the Managers

            "You still wouldn't speak to me because of what happened, huh?" Reno demanded with a glum look on his face.

Sephiroth just continued to comb his own hair while Vincent tuned his guitar. 

Reno snorted. "C'mon, guys! It's so easy to tell me that you're mad at me for just going off without permission! Why don't you just tell it to my face?" he demanded.

"We're not mad at you, Reno. We're just… disappointed." Vincent pointed out with a weak smile on his face.

Silence.

Sephiroth put down his comb on the dresser. "And I don't understand why we all have to share just one dressing room." He muttered.

"Because Rufus isn't here. If he's here, we'd get our own dressing rooms." Reno explained.

Sephiroth just got up from the dresser's chair and then just took off his shirt in front of Reno and Vincent.

Vincent frowned slightly and just turned away while Reno dodged the shirt flying his way because Sephiroth had tossed it to his direction. "Hey, watch it, mama's boy!" he said.

Sephiroth just sneered at him before he picked up a black muscle shirt with _Kiss da Macho Man!_ printed in blood red letters on the front and then put it on.

"You're wearing that?" Vincent asked with a ridiculous look on his face.

"Reeve says that the girls love my muscles so I should show them…" Sephiroth responded with an arrogant smile on his face as he did an exhibition of his biceps and triceps. Vincent just smirked weakly and chuckled lightly, "Right…" he said with a rather sarcastic tone.

"Oh right… the old _if you've got it, flaunt it_ thing…" Reno said with silly smile on his face.

"Besides, the spotlight is too hot. I sweat easily," Sephiroth told them before he picked up his guitar and led the way outside. "Let's go. It's time," he told them.

Vincent got up. "Where's Reeve? I need to speak to him about this leather pants that I'm supposed to wear…" he said.

"No time to complain about leather pants, Vincent. It's time." Sephiroth told him.

"Too bad Rufus and Cloud aren't here tonight," Vincent said.

"So what? We can still please the crowd even if it's just the two of us, Vinny. We don't need those two blondes," and he turned to Reno with a nasty smile on his face, "Or a redhead."

Reno frowned at him, "Fine, I can just leave!" he told them.

"I was only kidding, Carrot-top. At least we're not canceling our show! Look at Prettier Than Pink… it's only Yuffie and Elena that's why they canceled their show. It just proves how uncompetitive they are compared to us," Sephiroth replied with a sly smile on his face.

"Enough with the argument," Vincent said with a slight frown on his face before they finally went through backstage and made it to the stage itself.

The crowd hooted and cheered happily upon seeing them.

"Suddenly I'm in the mood to perform again." Reno told them in a stage whisper.

"Well… we can still do it even if it's just the three of us." Sephiroth told them with an encouraging look on his face before he stood before the mic stand with the mic on it. Vincent helped him with his ear phone before he spoke up against the mic, "ARE YA'LL READY TO KNOCK JUNON DOWN WITH ME?????"

"YEAAAAAAH!!!!!"

The whole place seemed to have slight tremors with the audience's response.

Sephiroth flashed his mean smile at the audience before turning to Vincent and Reno, checking if they're ready with their instruments.

Vincent smiled rather uneasily at the audience before he spoke up against his own mic, "Well, I'm sorry to say, Sephiroth, but we're not knocking down Junon or any kind of place tonight… because we'll take it nice and slow for this show." He said.

"Nice adlibs," Reno wanted to say out loud, but he just kept quiet and stared at the snare drums and some bongos in front of him. "Reeve really knows what to do." He thought silently before turning to the first few rows of seats, seeing Reeve standing by the stage and then seeing Elena and Yuffie. Reno secretly winked at Elena and she just smiled back at him. He could recognize her easily despite the rose-colored glasses. Yuffie was wearing a blue tank top and she was eyeing Reno quite suspiciously. Sephiroth was answering Vincent while Reno was examining the audience, "Nice and slow, eh? Well then…" he faced the audience again and he had this sly grin on his face, "…let's rock, baby." And strummed a chord.

The whole house cheered and hooted.

Vincent followed, strumming. Sephiroth continued to strum his acoustic guitar. Reno began to slap the drums with a slight frown on his face. "I hope I don't fall asleep." He said to them.

Sephiroth gave him a warning look before facing the audience again as Vincent began to sing:

_It's __midnight__, I can't calm down._

_Cannot sleep; can't even smile._

_How come, even now, I'm still asking questions and thinking…_

_You said it's me until we meet again;_

_How come you're in someone else's arms right now?_

_Where are you now? Where are you now?_

_Didn't you promise that you'd come back?_

_And up to now, I am still here_

_Waiting for you and all alone._

_Where are you now?_

"So he's their _ballad boy_, huh?" Yuffie whispered to Elena.

Elena nodded. "I wonder whom he's dedicating that song to?" she asked.

Reeve was eying the two of them, but they did not care. They figured that if they reacted rather obviously to him, he would realize who they are and might think that they are spying…

"That blonde girl really looks like Elena. But what will she do here anyway?" Reeve turned away from the two girls and just decided to watch and listen, but something caught his attention.

Standing by one of the posts at the end of the first row was a woman in red with long blonde hair tied up with a clamp. She still looked slutty as ever… and it made him cringe. "SCARLET?!" he thought in shock.

He observed her from afar: she had her arms crossed and she seems to be continuously eyeing Yuffie and Elena, and then playing with her long red nails and then making faces as the performance went on.

"What is she doing here? Isn't she supposed to be in Midgar? And how did she purchase a ticket to this concert?" he was thinking silently before he finally decided to approach her. 

She slowly turned her gaze to him and her eyes widened.

He smiled rather uneasily at her, "Good evening, Scarlet," he greeted with a stiff tone, expecting a lot of mockery and insults from her.

She was speechless, which surprised him. 

He continued, "Eh… what are you doing here?" he asked uneasily.

"Watching your boys perform," she replied frankly with a raised eyebrow before taking one last glance at Yuffie and Elena and then turned and walked away. But Reeve followed after her, "Aren't you supposed to be in Midgar?" he asked.

"It's my off." She replied simply with a stiff look on her face, but her eyes are revealing that she's hiding something.

He frowned slightly, "Oh…I see… well… what ticket did you get for this show? Maybe I could… give you special accommodation… like backstage passes?" he asked uneasily.

"Front row center. But I really have to be going now," she said before she sped up.

He stopped walking and thought for a while. "Isn't that where those two girls are seated…" his mouth dropped open before following after her again, "Where'd you buy yours? I thought all seats are taken already?" he asked.

"Someone gave it to me. Goodbye, Reeve. I'll see you at work tomorrow," she told him with a frown on her face.

He followed her until they reached the exit of the auditorium's lobby, and he grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Wait a minute… I saw President Rufus's plan. He don't have an off today!" he told her.

"I know, that's why I just left for a while and took one of the choppers. Besides, he's busy right now with Miss Lockheart so he doesn't care whether I leave to see how your boys are performing because Prettier Than Pink cancelled their show tonight!" she snapped before she pulled her wrist away from him with a sneer, "And don't you ever touch me again, you stupid Urban Development Dork," she turned to walk away, but she stopped when Reeve spoke up, "How did you know that he's with Miss Lockheart? You're not supposed to… know… because…"

She turned back to him, "Because?" she asked with a mocking tone.

"…because you're Scarlet?" he guessed. Everybody knows how she hates Tifa Lockheart because of jealousy and insecurity.

Scarlet laughed rather mockingly at him, "Kyahahahahahaha! Silly, Reeve. Of course, I know that I _am_ Scarlet. Don't you get it by now?" she asked playfully before flicking his nose and leaned closer to him and stood in tiptoe until her face was leveled with his, "I am their manager," she whispered, followed by a "Mwah," and laughed victoriously before strutting out of the building, leaving him stunned.

He remained standing there, feeling the whole world spinning around him, "Wh…what? Am I dreaming?! She's… but how… I thought… she…" he just turned back towards the auditorium, but just when he was already walking towards it, wanting to go back and forget about what he had heard, he just fainted.

            "Gee… I wonder where Scarlet had gone to. She said she'd wait for us," Elena said softly as she and Yuffie made their way out of the auditorium after the concert.

"Ugh… Sephiroth's not really fit to sing ballads. He sounds… funny. Like all his songs have undertones and he's always got this annoying smile on his face while he's singing." Yuffie remarked with an annoyed look on her face.

Elena stopped walking, "I'll just meet you back at the hotel," she said.

"Oh, don't tell me you're meeting _him_ again?" Yuffie asked with a probing tone and a malicious smile on her face.

Elena just giggled. "I'll see you later." And ran off.

Just when Yuffie was about to head for the hotel (which was just across the street from the auditorium), she saw Scarlet standing by the lobby door of the hotel, her arms crossed and as she leaned against a post. Yuffie decided to hurry and meet her. "What are you doing here? I thought you don't want to be seen by the public?" Yuffie demanded.

Scarlet laughed in her usual "Kyahahahahaha!" manner before speaking up, "Silly girl. Reeve knows already. There's no point in hiding and acting anymore. Anyway, where did Elena go?" she asked rather haughtily.

"She's meeting her boyfriend backstage." Yuffie said, ignoring the way Scarlet was acting around her. "How's Tifa anyway?" she continued.

"She's in good hands, don't worry. She's with President Rufus," Scarlet replied.

"Isn't Rude there? Doesn't he like Tifa?" Yuffie asked in disbelief.

"Rufus is not leaving her room until she is well. Let's just go inside before somebody sees us." Scarlet told her.

"So when's our next gig? Can't Elena and I perform without Tifa and Aerith?" Yuffie asked as they went inside.

Scarlet thought for a while. "Hmm… it will be just like the acoustic performance of those boys." She pointed out with an arrogant look on her face.

"So what? They're considering us as their competitors, right?" Yuffie asked with a mean smile on her face.

Scarlet laughed. "Kyahahahaha! Reeve's not going to like this…" she told her.

"You know, I don't get it. I thought you hate Tifa?" Yuffie asked with a frank tone.

"This is showbiz, dearie. You lie to become more credible." Scarlet said with a wink. Yuffie raised an eyebrow. Scarlet laughed at her, "Kyahahahahahahahaha! I'm just kidding. I've forgiven the fact that she's Tifa Lockheart and she's from AVALANCHE… aren't you, too? And Aerith? I wouldn't have taken you three with Elena under my wing if I really hated you to the bone. You should've thought about that the first time we met in the studio! Kyah!" she explained with a mean smile on her face.

"GAWDS! You're confusing me! Which side are you on anyway? What if you're just using us so that you'll get famous and hook up on rich old men… *gasp* and maybe you're also a pimp and you're going to… do something nasty to us?! OH MY GAWD!!!!!" Yuffie exclaimed in panic.

"KYAH! I know I dress like this but it doesn't mean that I am one of _those_… women!" Scarlet replied with a frown on her face. She looked rather disgusted by the fact that almost everyone she knows would refer to her as a _slut_… even Rufus thinks so… and the rest of his bandmates.

Yuffie laughed heartily. "Yeah, whatever!" she replied.

Scarlet just smiled and shrugged before they boarded the elevator, not caring if some people were already looking at them suspiciously.

            "You fainted just because you saw Scarlet?" Vincent repeated for the tenth time. He and Sephiroth were in Reeve's hospital room.

Sephiroth was just standing by the window with his arms crossed across his chest and he had this deep frown on his face.

Reeve shook his head in disbelief, "Who wouldn't faint if you found out that Scarlet is the manager of Prettier Than Pink?!" he stated rather weakly.

"Mwahahahahaha!" Sephiroth uncrossed his arms, but his fists were clenched. "Great. Just great. So your girlfriend's the manager of that girly band?" he demanded.

"Scarlet is not my girlfriend, mind you, Mister Sephiroth." Reeve muttered with a slight blush on his face.

"So that's why I was looking for you when I was still on-stage and you're nowhere to be found in the front row while you said that you'd be staying there. Who brought you here?" Vincent asked.

"Some passersby and some members of SOLDIER patrolling around Junon." Reeve said softly, feeling somewhat embarrassed that he fainted at the mere fact that he was confused about the situation. "Look, I just don't get it! She cannot be the manager of Prettier Than Pink…" he pointed out.

"Why not?" Vincent asked.

"Because Tifa's in it! We all know how much she hates Tifa's guts… and she's almost always in ShinRa and she isn't with the girls whenever they're touring or performing…"

"She can always sneak out whenever Rufus is out because everytime Prettier Than Pink is performing, we are also performing, meaning, Rufus is with us. Without Rufus in ShinRa, every employee could be doing something stupid… just like what Scarlet is doing." Sephiroth explained to them.

Silence.

"That's why all of his executives tried to discourage him from having another career other than his presidency." Reeve told them with a miserable look on his face.

"What's so bad about Scarlet being the manager of Prettier Than Pink, anyway?" Vincent asked with a curious look on his face as he sat down on a couch by the bed.

"Vincent, Scarlet is one of the… bravest women I know. She wouldn't stop until she gets what she wants. And knowing her attitude, what if she is just using those girls so that she'll get famous herself?" Reeve said.

"Or it could be like she is a woman who fights her way up, and her attitude will rub on the four girls including Elena who appears to be sweet…" Vincent began.

Sephiroth made a barfing sound which caught the attention of Reeve and Vincent. "Damn! Don't tell me Elena, Yuffie and Tifa are going to be a bunch of Scarlets in the future?!" he exclaimed in disgust.

Vincent and Reeve shuddered. Just imagining the girls in slutty red dresses, long red nails and red stiletto heels and black fishnet stockings made them cringe. "I hope not… that would be very degrading," Sephiroth told them with a frown on his face before he smiled again and said, "Except for that Eris girl. Maybe she could use some color other than black!" he told them with an insulting tone.

"Well… the only girl from Prettier Than Pink that I know who has Scarlet's wild and catty attitude is Eris." Reeve pointed out.

"What if they're just like an _Association of Kick-Ass Women_ and their Fan Club consists of girls…" Vincent began. "…who are battered wives and victims of men's abuse…" Sephiroth continued with a disapproving look on his face.

Silence.

"I'll just talk to Scarlet tomorrow… I think this is also between her and me… she's trying to compete her band with mine by letting them perform in the same dates and areas whenever we're performing." Reeve told them before realizing that it's only Vincent and Sephiroth in the room. He frowned slightly, "Where is Reno anyway?" he asked.

"Somewhere. He just left without saying anything after the concert." Sephiroth replied mindlessly.

"You mentioned something to me this morning while he was out… that he's got a girlfriend named Elena but he said that she isn't the Elena from Prettier Than Pink?" Vincent asked.

"I think it's really Elena from Prettier Than Pink." Sephiroth pointed out.

"Well what are we going to do about it?" Vincent asked.

Sephiroth turned to Reeve, "Well then you should've placed it in our contracts that having girlfriends is not allowed!" he told him.

"That would be unfair. President Rufus wouldn't like that…" Reeve wanted to say out loud, but he just kept quiet.

Vincent turned to Sephiroth, "No, that would be ridiculous…" he trailed off when the door slowly opened. A nurse entered with a sweet smile on her face, "Here you go, Miss Gainsborough," she said before stepping aside.

"What?" Vincent asked in surprise as he got up immediately. Sephiroth's eyes widened when a girl with shoulder-length wavy brown hair and green eyes entered the room. She was wearing a black dress and she had this sweet smile on her face. "Thank you, nurse," she said before the nurse exited.

Then, her facial expression changed from cheerful to stiff as she turned her gaze to Sephiroth. "Hello," she greeted.

Silence.

Reeve's eyes were wide upon seeing Aerith. "Y… you're back!" he said in shock. 

"And he knows? So Cloud's the only one who doesn't know about my coming back?" Aerith asked in disbelief before approaching Sephiroth.

He just smirked at her, "So you're here. Where have you been?" he asked.

Vincent felt nervous all of a sudden.

"What did you tell Cloud about Zack again?" Aerith asked Sephiroth with a sarcastically sweet smile on her face.

He just began to run his fingers through his long silver hair like he did not care about anything else but his hair. "What ever do you mean by that, Aerith?" he asked with an innocent tone.

Reeve just rolled his eyes. "Please, if you're going to argue about _that_ issue, please take it outside. I want to rest. It's going to be a big day for me tomorrow." He told them.

"So gathering enough courage to talk to Scarlet is a big thing for you?" Sephiroth asked.

Vincent went to Sephiroth and Aerith and grabbed their wrists; he used his right hand to hold Aerith, and his left claw to hold Sephiroth. He dragged them outside. "Good night, Reeve," he said before they finally got outside.

He checked if the halls are clear and when he knew that there is no one else there, he spoke up with a calm tone, "Sephiroth, now's the time to tell Aerith the truth." he pointed out.

"The truth about what?" Sephiroth asked.

"Stop playing innocent, Sephy. What did you tell Cloud about Zack?" Aerith asked with a tone that seemed to falter. Vincent and Sephiroth could tell that she was already near to tears, but the latter just shrugged.

Aerith smiled uneasily at Sephiroth and she stood up straight, making sure that she maintained her posture. She would not resort to crying even if she was already very annoyed. She just wished that Cloud was there to back her up, but she left him in Kalm for a while, telling him that she would be taking a walk. All this time, she was just staying in Barret's house in Kalm with Cloud. The last thing she would want to happen at that moment with Sephiroth and Vincent is for them to find out that she is gothic girl from Prettier Than Pink named Eris… 

"Oh, c'mon, Sephiroth. Don't think I don't know about it?" Aerith asked.

"About what?" Sephiroth asked with a challenging tone.

"You told Cloud that I'm not returning anymore and that I hooked up with Zack!" she snapped impatiently.

Sephiroth just laughed. "Mwahahahahahaha! How'd you find out? That spiky-headed jerk told you? Let me guess… he's mad at me right now because I told you that?" he asked.

"No. He's calmed down already but… I AM THE ONE WHO'S MAD!!!" Aerith screeched, her voice echoing all over the place.

Silence.

"Calm down, Aerith! We're in a hospital," Vincent told her with an uneasy look on his face.

"Listen, Sephiroth… I don't know if you just used that to bribe Cloud into joining LWD but…" she took a deep breath and released it before smiling weakly, "…Just don't do it again, okay?" she asked.

Sephiroth just rolled his eyes and smiled at Vincent. "Sure," and began to walk away, but he stopped upon realizing something. He slowly turned around to face Aerith again and he narrowed his eyes on her, "How did you know that I told that to Cloud?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious; she spoke to him," Vincent pointed out with a tired look on his face.

Silence.

"So that's why you left ShinRa and had us all worried about your condition!" Vincent told her.

She just nodded. "I had to find out what's going on. I don't know what you told him but I could still remember that you told me not to meet him yet because it is not yet time. I don't understand it, but now I do." She told them before she turned and walked away.

Vincent and Sephiroth exchanged confused glances with each other. "What?" they both asked in unison. They could not understand what Aerith had just told them… and she just walked away!

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sephiroth ran after her and grabbed her shoulder, making her stop. "Can you elaborate on that?" he asked with a demanding tone. He hates mind games.

She just turned around and smiled sweetly at him.

He frowned at her, "Okay so I told that to him so that he could join the band." He admitted.

Vincent approached the two, "Pardon me, Aerith, but where are you staying all those times that you're gone?" he asked.

"I have my own money, don't worry about me. I know how to survive on my own…" she replied.

"You've spoken to Cloud already?" he continued.

She nodded. 

Silence.

"Did you know that he's seeing that girl from Prettier Than Pink?" Sephiroth asked frankly. Vincent's eyes widened and he just mindlessly slapped Sephiroth's back with his left claw.

Aerith's eyes widened. "Really? Who?" she asked in shock. She frowned and then her facial expression changed from angry to sad. "…is it Tifa?" she asked with a sad tone.

"No… the goth girl," Sephiroth replied.

Aerith looked up at him again. "…The girl in black?" she asked.

Vincent stared at Aerith's clothes: black. He frowned slightly, "Aerith wears black?" he also noticed the short hair. He couldn't help but ask, "What have you done to your hair?"

Aerith just sniffed and bowed down her head, "Yes, he told me something about her… and how wonderful she is…" she took a step away from the two, "Anyway, I'd better go back now… I… have to rest. Until next time." She told them before she began to walk away, but Vincent called out to her, "Do you want free tickets for our next gig? It's going to be at the Icicle Inn a month from now… Saturday."

She pretended not to have heard anything and just proceeded to walk, a playful smile was on her lips. "It's payback time…" she thought silently.

            "Kyah! Where have you been? We've been so worried about you!" Scarlet scolded in a frantic manner during the morning while having breakfast with Yuffie. Aerith still had a sleepy look on her face as she forced herself to eat some cereal. They were in the hotel's restaurant in the lobby.

Aerith switched into _Eris__ Mode_ since they were in a public place, "What's it to you?" she asked.

"No, really, where have you been?" Yuffie whispered.

Aerith stifled a smile before moving closer to Scarlet and Yuffie and whispered, "I was with Cloud all this time! Heehee!" she giggled happily.

The two jaw-dropped.

They were interrupted when Elena walked in. Scarlet frowned and snorted before getting up from her seat, putting her hands on her hips. "And you, young lady, where have you been? You didn't come back to your room last night!" she scolded.

Elena blushed slightly and just smiled sheepishly at Scarlet. "Oh, Scarlet, you know I couldn't leave _him!_" she told her with a sweet tone before she sat down beside Aerith. "Hey, _Eris_," she greeted with a wink.

Aerith checked her face through the reflection on the spoon that she was holding. Her black eyeliner and eyeshadow was beginning to cause some itch around her eyes. "Are we going back to Midgar tonight?" she asked them.

"Yes. The four of you are going to perform in a school prom." Scarlet replied.

Silence.

"Without Tifa?" Aerith asked.

"Tifa is… being treated. It turns out that she has a brain tumor and…" Scarlet began, but Elena and Yuffie both exclaimed, "WHAT?! OH MY GAWD!!!???"

Everyone turned to look at them.

Aerith tried to act annoyed and rolled her eyes. "Keep it down, will ya?" she snapped.

Yuffie felt speechless for a moment before she got up from her seat and rushed to Scarlet's place, "Are you trying to tell me that Tifa is sick and… GAWD!!! *gasp* She's going to die?!" she said in disbelief.

"No, she's not going to die! Kyah! President Rufus is taking care of her!" Scarlet snapped at her impatiently.

Silence.

"Now you've done it… people can hear, you know?" Aerith said with a sarcastic smile on her face, acting to fit her character: Eris.

Elena's eyes were wide in awe. "You… you mean Tifa is just with Rufus all this time?" she asked.

"Kyah. Isn't it obvious! I went here because Tifa told me that the show must go on even if she's not around. But when I got here, Eris is also nowhere to be found and had the concert canceled!" Scarlet told them.

Yuffie and Elena were still in awe.

After a few moments when they were already settled down on their own seats and proceeding with their meal, Elena spoke up again, "How long has she had that tumor and what caused it?" she asked with a worried look on her face.

"I've known it all along… but she made me promise not to tell anyone because she doesn't want it to get in the way of her career. Remember when she was brought to ShinRa when Rufus rescued her from the Honeybee Inn? She was stubborn enough to leave even if she's not yet well!" Aerith pointed out with a rather stiff tone before she slowly got up and headed back to the buffet table to get some croissant and butter.

Then, a reporter just approached their table with a thrilled smile on his face, "Excuse me, ma'am… but… you don't happen to be the manager of…" he began while looking at Scarlet.

"Kyahahahaha! You're damn right, it's me. Now get lost. I don't want my girls to answer any stubborn questions. Do it during a Press Con." Scarlet snapped impatiently while shooing the person away.

But the reporter was stubborn. "But… what's the buzz that I heard about your keyboardist dating the keyboardist of your rival band?" he asked with a smile on his face. Yuffie could imagine a hungry wolf looking at its prey just by staring at the man's face. She just looked away with a disgusted look on her face before she continued to eat.

"Why don't you ask the so-called rival band first before you ask us?" Scarlet demanded.

Aerith approached them again with a mean look on her face before she dropped her plate on the table, causing some loud noise which surprised the reporter, "What is the problem here?" she demanded with a threatening tone.

Elena just raised her eyebrows and tried to stop herself from smiling. "Aerith is really good at acting like a mean girl…" she thought silently before she went to the buffet table, wanting to leave them with the problem. She has other things in her mind like "What if they find out that I'm Reno's girlfriend? Will it ruin our career?"

The reporter smiled sweetly at Aerith as if her "short temper" didn't matter at all, "Miss Eris, I know that Miss Tifa is your best friend. Did she tell you anything?" he asked.

"I have no comment about that. Now leave me be, I am going to eat." Aerith replied haughtily before she slightly pushed the man aside and then sat down on her chair.

"But ma'am…" the reporter began again, but he was interrupted when Reeve entered the dining hall with Sephiroth and Vincent following behind.

"Looks like the bad posse is here…" Aerith muttered with a mean smile on her face before she got up from her seat, anticipating the arrival of the three to their table.

Reeve went over to Scarlet with a serious look on his face, "Scarlet, we need to talk." He told her.

"Oh… so you're now okay?" Scarlet asked mindlessly.

"Leave now, Mister Reporter. Things could get ugly," Aerith told the man.

"It's okay, Miss Eris," the man replied with a thrilled smile on his face.

"So where's your drummer?" Aerith demanded from Sephiroth with an insulting tone.

He just sneered at her before he moved away, standing behind Vincent.

"So you're hiding behind your freaky friend here with the claw? I thought you were the bravest among your members… braver than Cloud Strife… not to mention, more _insane_." Aerith said with a provoking tone.

Sephiroth turned to her with an evil smile on his face, "So you know about my past?" he asked.

"Everybody knows what you did. Shame on you." Aerith told him mockingly before she sat down and began to eat. "Mister Reeve, keep your bassist away from me. I do not like his face." She snapped before flipping her hair.

Sephiroth wanted to strangle her but Vincent held him back and then just decided to drag him to a table far from them so that they could eat in peace. Reeve remained standing before Scarlet.

"I can't believe her! And she called you _freaky_!" Sephiroth told Vincent with a frantic tone.

"Calm down… you wouldn't want to cause a scene here." Vincent whispered.

"Hah! If I could just have my own way, I'd get my Masamune right now and stab her with it ala-kill-Aerith style. Mwahahahahaha!" Sephiroth laughed out loud.

Aerith heard that and she twitched, but she just remained seated. But when Elena returned, Aerith got up. "Let's get out of here, girls. I think Scarlet needs to talk with Reeve alone." She declared.

"But… I just…" Elena stammered, but Aerith grabbed the plate off her grasp and handed it to Reeve. "C'mon. You'd better watch your weight! Let's just rehearse!" she snapped impatiently before she grabbed Elena's hand and dragged her out of the room with Yuffie following behind them.

Elena felt somewhat bad. She thought that they would really go upstairs and start rehearsing, but then she was surprised when Aerith led the way to the back exit and soon they were out in the streets of Junon. She led the way to an ordinary café. Elena and Yuffie were speechless even as they sat down to order.

Aerith had a sweet smile on her face again despite the gothic make-up on her face. "Heehee. How was I back there?" she asked in her normal accent.

Silence.

Elena pounded on the table with a look of disbelief on her face. "UNBELIEVABLE!" she exclaimed before clapping her hands in praise and then giggled happily.

Yuffie sighed in relief. "You had us back there! How can you act like Rufus?!" she said.

Aerith giggled. "Sorry for acting like a bitch back there. Anyway, I wouldn't let you girls starve! So let's eat!" she said rather cheerfully… 

*** 

            Sephiroth and Vincent listened carefully as Scarlet continued to argue with Reeve. The two were far from them but since Scarlet was shouting, Sephiroth and Vincent could really understand the situation even though Reeve kept his own voice down.

"Can't we just leave?" Vincent asked with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face.

"Why? This is getting good." Sephiroth said with a smirk as he watched Scarlet attempt to hit Reeve with a plate, but the poor guy stopped her.

"Uh… we should leave. It's like a lover's quarrel if you look at it," Vincent whispered.

Sephiroth turned to him. "But aren't you glad that it's already clear that Scarlet plans their concert dates and schedules it on the days or nights wherein we're also scheduled to perform?" he asked.

"Meaning that Tifa and the rest do not have anything to do with it so we'd better forgive them." Vincent pointed out.

"Who are you kidding?" Sephiroth snapped at him.

Vincent just sighed heavily. "Never mind…" he said.

Scarlet took a deep breath before speaking out again with a stiff smile on her face, "Kyah! You stupid Urban Development Dork! I don't care if you tell President Rufus about me being the manager of those girls. So what if he fires me for playing hooky?" she argued.

"You'll lose your position as the Weapons Department head and you know that those girls cannot perform forever! They'll eventually age and get married and have kids." Reeve told her.

"Same with your boys!" she snapped.

"At least I'm not quitting with my job as the Head of Urban Development while at the same time managing LWD! At least I know that even if LWD would be splitting up in the future, I'll still have a job!" he told her.

Silence.

"There's no use talking to you. I'm out of here!" Scarlet snapped.

"Just don't schedule your girls' gigs during our gigs. It's beginning to confuse the audience." He told her.

"Kyahahahahaha! I know you have a gig tonight so we'll be performing too!" she snapped.

His eyes widened. "Oh no, you won't!" Reeve told her, finally losing his patience. He has had enough of her behavior. 

"And what will you do?" she demanded angrily.

"Scarlet, don't make me…" he threatened.

"Make you what?" she asked playfully before laughing in her usual kyahahahahaha way.

"Okay, let's get out of here before he makes us take him to the hospital. Let's just go back to Midgar and tell Rufus about this… and then after that, we'll look for Cloud and tell her everything about Aerith." Sephiroth said before he got Vincent's hand and led the way out of the hotel's restaurant.

"What about Reeve?" Vincent asked.

"Never mind him. We'll take the chopper. I have my own pass; I'm from First Class SOLDIER, remember?" he asked with a wink.

As they headed for the helipad, Vincent asked another question with a solemn look on his face, "So you're going to tell Cloud that you lied to him?" he asked.

"No choice. I don't want him to be falling all over Eris. Aerith is going to kill me!" Sephiroth said.

Vincent chuckled lightly, seeing the fear in Sephiroth's eyes. "Now, this is unusual. You, afraid of Aerith Gainsborough? One of your victims?" he asked.

"She could have her revenge, you know?" Sephiroth replied.

Vincent frowned slightly before shrugging.

            "The problem with you is that you're so damn annoying that's why I hate you! And yes, Heidegger hates you too because you're so pathetic. Same with Palmer! And I'll bet Hojo hated you too because you're stupid! And guess what?! Maybe Lucrecia does too because you're…"

"You don't have to remind me that everybody in ShinRa hates me because I already know that, okay, Scarlet? I just think that you're over-reacting and you've taken this argument in the personal level already that's why you are trying to compete your girls with my boys." Reeve said with a weak smile on his face.

"Kyahahahahahahahahaha! It's your fault! You stupid Urban Development Dork!" she snapped.

"Is it wrong to be the devil's advocate?" he asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"In the corporate setting yes," she told him.

"I don't think so." Reeve told her before taking a sip of coffee and then glanced at his watch. He realized that he had been arguing with Scarlet for more than three hours already. "Oh my… I have to go now." He told her with a look of awe on his face while keeping his eye on the time as he got up.

"Kyah! Where are you going?" she demanded angrily.

"I have to get back to ShinRa." He told her.

"Kyah. You're not leaving me here!" she followed after him.

"I thought you hate me?" he asked as he headed for the helipad but realized that their chopper wasn't there anymore. He suddenly snapped. "Now look what you've done! You made me stay there for more than an hour and now they left me here!" he told her with an annoyed look on his face.

"Kyahahahahahahaha! Maybe they left you on purpose!" she nagged with an evil smile on her face. "Well, I'd better go upstairs and get my girls. You want to ride in our yacht?" she asked with a mocking smile on her face.

He just stared rather helplessly at her. "May I?" he asked rather weakly.

She laughed victoriously, "Kyahahahahahaha! I knew I had you wrapped around my little finger!" she said happily.

He turned away from her, "Never mind, I'll just buy a ticket for the next trip to Midgar." He muttered miserably before he left her there.

She stopped laughing and she just watched him as he silently walked away from her. The moment he got inside the lobby again, her facial expression softened and she just smiled rather gently before raking her fingers through the loose strands of her hair against the sides of her face and then got her mobile phone. She dialed some numbers and then began to talk in speakerphone mode to the person whom she was calling, "Aerith, it's time to go back here."

"Okay. We'll be there in a moment. I saw the chopper pass by above this restaurant where we're in… I think Sephiroth's the one piloting it." Aerith explained.

"What did you tell him anyway when you talked to them last night?" Scarlet asked.

"You mean, _what did he tell me!_" Aerith corrected before giggling. "They told me the truth and they said that Cloud is dating _Eris_. Heehee." She explained.

Scarlet was silent for a while before laughing hysterically, "Talk about ignorance. Those boys are becoming Reeve Juniors!" she said happily.

Silence.

"You know, you could use some little children in your life and name them _Reeve Junior_, _Reeve III, Reeve IV_…" Yuffie chimed in from the background.

Scarlet froze. "KYAH?!" 

The next thing she heard were giggles from Elena, Yuffie and Aerith before the latter finally hung up, leaving Scarlet dumbfounded while listening to the dial tone.


	15. Some Trouble

Fifteen: Some Trouble

            "We just arrived from Junon and they have a lot of fanmail and they have to guest in one show tonight too…" Reeve told the person on the other line.

"Correction: _you_ just arrived from Junon." Sephiroth pointed out before laughing mockingly at their manager. Reeve just ignored the insult. It was already bad that Sephiroth and Vincent left him in Junon, and then he realized that the two also left Reno still asleep. "At least Reno was still there." He was thinking quietly.

"Where have you been anyway? Don't tell me you've just been arguing with Scarlet all those hours that you were gone?" Vincent asked.

Reeve frowned slightly, "Well, reserve the recording booth for tomorrow. We'll be doing a recording session for their new album to be released next month!" and then he hung up. He sighed heavily and checked the clock. It was already 2 in the afternoon and they were still inside his office in ShinRa just reading fanmail.

Sephiroth's eyes widened as he came across one of the letters, "Whoa, this one's scented!" he sniffed it and made a face. "Smells nasty…" he muttered.

"Careful, it could carry anthrax!" Reeve warned.

"I'm immune to anthrax, mind you." Sephiroth pointed out before he read it out loud, "_Everdearest Sephiroth_," he flipped his own hair with an arrogant smile on his face before he turned to Vincent, "I'm sure this one's a girl who really admires me," he told him.

Vincent just smiled weakly before proceeding to read more of the letters.

Sephiroth proceeded to read: "_I have been dying to meet you ever since the first time I saw you on-stage. Gods, you're so wonderful! I'm…_" he continued to read… the next few lines that he read made Reno, Vincent and Reeve's eyes widen in mixed disbelief and disgust.

"That girl's basically fantasizing over you?! Man! I can't believe she…" Reno trailed off when he noticed a girl with long dark hair wearing a white long-sleeved nightgown standing by the open door of the office. He thought it was a ghost and he almost fell off from his chair, but he just gasped and got up, taking a few steps backward. 

Sephiroth stopped reading the X-rated letter and turned his gaze to the door. He frowned upon seeing who it was.

Vincent and Reeve stared curiously at the young lady. "What are you doing here?" the latter asked curiously with a kind look on his face.

She smiled softly at them, "Where's Rufus?" she asked.

She still looked pale.

"I… don't know. I thought he's with you?" Reeve asked.

Tifa shook her head disappointedly, "He said he'd go to his office for a while…" she explained.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Sephiroth asked mindlessly.

Vincent got up from his seat and went to her, assisting her, "You'd better go back to your room and stay there until he returns. How do you feel?" he asked kindly as he led her out of the office, going to the elevators. "I'm alright. I just feel somewhat dizzy. Must be the effect of the drug that they injected in my veins so that the tumor would disappear." She explained. They waited for a few moments before the elevator door opened and he just froze in his tracks… so did the person inside the elevator.

Silence filled the whole hallway.

Tifa smiled sweetly at the woman. "Pleasant day to you, Doctor Valentine." She greeted.

Vincent's eyes widened upon hearing that.

Lucrecia stared wide-eyed at him. "Vin… Vinny?" she asked softly with a voice that seemed to tremble.

Silence.

Tifa stared at the two, wondering what was going on. "Do you know each other?" she asked innocently.

The silence was just interrupted when Sephiroth arrived with a ringing mobile phone in his hand, "You left this, Vincent. It's Cloud cal… ling…" he trailed off when he saw Vincent and his mother staring at each other. "Shit…" he muttered.

Only the sound of the polyphonic tone ringing from Vincent's mobile phone could be heard clearly. 

After twenty more seconds, the ringing stopped, and full silence took over.

"Mom," Sephiroth began, breaking the silence.

Lucrecia screeched.

*** 

            "She's… she's… she's… she's…" Vincent was still stammering as he stared blankly into empty space. It had already been five hours after the incident but he was still in a state of shock.

Sephiroth had his arms crossed as he remained standing by the window of Vincent's room. 

Rufus had a stern look on his face, "Next time, you warn your mother not to roam around when we're here." He muttered to Sephiroth.

His silver-haired companion laughed out loud, "You tell her that yourself. I'm enjoying the events here." He responded rather happily with a pleased look on his face.

"You bastard!" Rufus collared him, but he was still laughing. Rufus began to shake him rather violently, "You mentioned that Aerith already knows what you've told Cloud! And now Vincent knows you lied to him! What are you going to do now?" he demanded angrily.

"Why are you so worried? I didn't lie to Tifa about you! I told her you fantasize about her _naked_! Mwahahahahaha!" Sephiroth responded with a malicious look on his face as he winked and pushed Rufus away from himself. "Stay away from me, you're going to wrinkle my clothes. I'm wearing this for the Press Con." He muttered.

Rufus was awestruck. "You told Tifa what?!" he asked in shock.

Sephiroth just smiled maliciously at him.

"You know that isn't true! I don't fantasize about her naked! I didn't tell you anything like that!" Rufus said defensively.

"Aw, c'mon. You're a man! It's natural for us to fantasize about naked women! And did you know that we think about sex every minute and…" Sephiroth began, but he stopped when he saw that Rufus was already fuming like an angry goat.

Rufus snapped back into his senses and clenched his fists. "You….." he began, but he was interrupted when the door just burst open and there was this young man with spiky blonde hair in black clothes, looking so angry and was glaring angrily at them.

Rufus and Sephiroth stared in awe at Cloud Strife, but their eyes widened and their mouths dropped open when they realized that the spiky-haired youth was holding the Ultima Weapon in his grasp.

"Shit!" Rufus thought silently.

"AAARGH!!!!!" Cloud growled angrily like a demented lion as he charged at the two. 

"OH MY GAWD!!!!!" Sephiroth and Rufus split up and rushed out of the room, leaving a stunned Vincent Valentine.

Sephiroth ran faster than Rufus, making Rufus feel frustrated and angry. "This dork has caused so much trouble here in my property and in my life!!!" he thought angrily as he followed Sephiroth through the flight of stairs.

"Sephiroth! Come back here!" Cloud snarled angrily, his angry voice echoing through the walls within the flight of stairs.

"Look what you've done! Your damn lies turned him into something like that!" Rufus told Sephiroth angrily.

"Mwahahahahahahahahaha!" Sephiroth just laughed gaily.

They reached the floor where Rufus's quarters are located and they continued to run along the hallway. Sephiroth decided to just hide in one of the rooms and lock the door… specifically, Rufus's own bedroom… leaving Rufus stranded outside and trying to break the door open to save his own life from Cloud. "Sephiroth! Open the goddamn door!" he commanded angrily.

"No way!" Sephiroth called out.

Even though they had lost Cloud for a moment, they both knew that he'd be really looking for the two of them: his two former enemies… and then maybe if he gets lucky, he could finally kill Rufus ShinRa without letting him escape… and then Sephiroth for the second time.

Rufus kicked the door angrily and grabbed his shotgun, ready to aim at Cloud if ever he attempts to really hurt him… but he thought twice about it. He didn't want more trouble with Aerith if ever he killed Cloud. So he just ran off again, proceeding the room next to his: Tifa's room.

He just entered and shut the door behind him, gasping.

Tifa sat up with a worried look on her face, "Rufus, what's wrong?" she asked.

He ran to her. "If Cloud enters, tell him I'm not here and that you've never seen me around ever since this morning when Lucrecia had a break down!" Rufus instructed.

"But… but why?" she asked in confusion. Before he could answer, he already heard Cloud shouting outside and his heavy footsteps caused by his combat boots. Rufus did not answer anymore; he just slipped under the blanket, hiding underneath it. He nudged her a little with his shotgun to serve as a warning to her that if she told Cloud the truth, he would kill her.

She raised an eyebrow, surprised at his sudden action to hide under her blanket. 

"Just play along!" Rufus whispered hoarsely. 

When the door opened, Tifa lied down again, closed the curtains of the canopy bed and hugged the "pillow" beside her and pretended to be asleep. Rufus stiffened upon feeling her body so intimately close to his. He swallowed hard and his eyes were wide.

"Tifa," Cloud began with a stern tone before he slightly parted the curtains and peered inside.

She slowly opened her eyes and turned to look at him. She winced, as if blinded by the light coming from the lamp. "Cloud, the curtains!" she told him.

Cloud did not mind. "Where's Rufus?" he demanded directly.

"Why?" Tifa asked.

"He's got some explaining to do." Cloud pointed out.

"Why? What did he do?" she asked innocently.

"HE AND THE OTHERS LIED TO ME!!! Aerith is alive!!!" Cloud snapped impatiently.

Silence.

Tifa gasped, pretending to be surprised, "Wh…what?! She's alive?! Oh my! Where is she?!"

"Just answer the question, Teef," he told her with a demanding look on his face.

She calmed down, "I haven't seen Rufus ever since this morning. Why don't you ask Reeve or Reno? Maybe they know." Tifa told him before she grabbed the curtains and closed them again, but Cloud opened them slightly again. "Don't you dare lie to me about Rufus, Tifa," he sneered.

She blinked in awe. "Why would I even lie to you about Rufus, Cloud?" she asked in disbelief. She could not believe that even Cloud Strife, whom she had known ever since childhood, could lose his trust on her. But then again, she had her own misgivings to him in the past…

He looked away. "Because I know that… I know how much you've adored that bastard ever since… ever since…" and then smiled. "C'mon, Tifa, he's hiding under that blanket of yours, right? Snuggled closely to your legs and…"

She gasped at him. "Why I never… Cloud! How could you!" she had this hurtful look on her face before she covered her face with her hands and began to sob. "I'm telling Eris that you hurt my feelings!" she warned.

Cloud's eyes widened. He knows that _Eris_… or Aerith… is Tifa's best friend… "N…no, I was just…" he began, but he stopped when he thought he saw the "pillow" move. He frowned slightly, "Rufus is there!" he pointed out.

She stopped "crying", though she had tear-stained eyes. "Why would he even be here?" she asked innocently.

"I saw _that_ moving!" he pointed towards the pillow under the blanket.

She moved closer to the "pillow" and embraced it. Rufus clenched his fists and his teeth and he had this uncomfortable look on his face. He felt so cold all of a sudden.

 "Cloud, that was my leg that moved! It just hit the _pillow_ that's why it moved too! Now go away and leave me alone. I want to sleep." She said with a shaky tone that seemed to falter… like she is ready to cry again if ever he attempts to do something bad. She noticed that he's holding his Ultima Weapon. "And keep that thing away from me. You're creeping me out!" she told him frankly before she grabbed the curtains and shut them close.

Cloud thought for a while before he opened the curtains again, surprising Tifa. She sat up in awe but she was holding the blanket close to herself like she is covering her chest… even though she is not naked. "Oh no… I hope he doesn't do anything nasty…" she was thinking quietly. She could feel her old energy returning to herself, knowing that she is already well.

"Tell me the truth, Tifa, where is Rufus. Stop saving him." He told her.

"He didn't do anything to you so just leave him alone." She told him.

"Why are you doing this to him?" he demanded.

"Because I…" she stopped herself from continuing. She turned red with embarrassment before she frowned and turned away. Cloud narrowed his eyes at her, "You what?" he asked.

She was just quiet.

He smiled calmly at her, "I wouldn't mind it if you told me the truth. The past is gone, Tifa." He told her reassuringly.

She turned to look at him again and she smiled softly. "I was so stupid, so young and so naïve to believe that I ever loved you, Cloud Strife. Now go back to Aerith because she's waitin' for ya!" she winked and shoved him away before she closed the curtains again. She stayed frozen in her spot, staring into the dimness of her surroundings, listening to Cloud's footsteps fading off, and she heard the door open and then slammed shut again.

She sighed heavily and leaned back against the headboard. "That's the first and last time that I'd be doing you favors, Rufus ShinRa. He almost killed me back there!" she said with a look of relief on her face.

He emerged from under the blanket and he raked his fingers through his hair repeatedly. It somewhat got messy while he was running, and it worsened when he hid under her blanket. "Ugh… better buy some new gel." He responded.

She stared at him in disbelief. "Don't I get a thank you?" she asked.

He stared at her, "What for?" he asked.

"But…" she began, but stopped herself. He is still the ungrateful bastard from before… so why bother?

He flipped his hair again and crawled towards her. She forgot to breathe as he straddled her legs and leaned his face closer to hers. "Just kidding, Tifa." He said with a sly smile on his face.

She breathed out in shock; it sounded like a slight gasp. And he gave her a kiss…

FLASH!

Their eyes widened in shock and they both froze before they slowly turned their heads to the person holding the camera.

Cloud Strife.

Silence.

"I knew there was something going on between the two of you." He told them with a teasing smile on his face before he ran out of the room.

Rufus wanted to faint but he just clenched his fists and decided to just act cool about the situation, even though deep inside, he really wanted to go after Cloud and stuff him inside a cannon and fire him up into the heavens… and do more morbid stuff on him just to have his revenge.

Tifa was examining the uncomfortable look on his face as he slowly got out of bed and flipped his hair rather repeatedly. She smiled uneasily at him, "Wh… what's there to be embarrassed about? I…it's true that there's something going on between the two of us, right?" she asked rather weakly. She felt so worried that he might reject her after all the things that he had done to her.

He was just silent.

She bowed down her head. "…I'm sorry… I guess I was expecting… too much… I'm sorry…" she said with a shameful look on her face. "I must've misinterpreted your kindness… I'm so sorry," she continued with a bitter smile on her face.

He flipped his hair again before he took one last glance at her and then left the room without saying anything to her.

She felt her heart sink. "Face it Tifa… he can never really feel the same way for you… you're just… a nobody… even with all the fame and fortune you have now…" she scolded herself in her thoughts miserably as a solitary tear fell from her eye.

            Rufus gently shut the door behind him and sighed heavily as he leaned against it. He had a slight smile on his face, like something good has happened to him. "Got a bigshot deal…" he muttered.

Then, his mobile phone began to ring. He got it from his pocket and answered the call with a frown on his face, "Yes?"

"President Rufus, where are you? You're already 10 minutes late!" Reeve told him with a rather frantic tone.

"Why? What's going on? I don't have a meeting scheduled for tonight!" Rufus told him.

"PRESS Con, sir," 

Silence.

Rufus hung up. "SHIT! Cloud's going to show the picture to everyone!" he thought, his eyes widening at the mere thought of it. He immediately ran going to the elevators, but he stopped on his tracks when an idea just formed on his head. "That spiky-headed jerk… I'll show him who's cheeky." He thought with a mean smile on his face before turning back. He began to walk calmly but briskly going back to Tifa's room. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside, surprising Tifa who was still seated on the bed with a miserable look on her face. He thought he saw her crying, but he just dismissed the thought as he told her, "Get dressed. We'll have dinner together. I'll meet you here after fifteen minutes, understood?" and he walked out of the room.

She was awestruck. She sniffed. "Wh…what is he trying to do now?" she thought silently.

            "Where the hell is Rufus?! After this we have to go to the Bistro in Sector 3!" Reno was thinking silently as he signaled for one of the reporters to repeat the question. "Could you repeat the question," he told the reporter.

The reporter smiled and asked, "Is it true that your keyboardist is dating the keyboardist of your rival band?"

Silence.

Cloud could not help but smile but he did not say anything.

"Ask him that yourself," Reno replied simply with a shrug.

Sephiroth nudged the still-stunned Vincent Valentine who was seated beside him and just staring into empty space.

"Where is Rufus anyway? Why aren't you complete? He hasn't been playing lately!" a reporter asked.

"He's just busy with his Presidential duties." Cloud replied.

Vincent turned his gaze to Sephiroth, "I… want to… see…" he began, but Sephiroth shhhed him before turning to Reeve, "Could you go and check on Rufus?" he whispered.

Reeve nodded and just left the conference room. The moment he got out, he saw Scarlet leaning against one of the posts by a potted plant. He wished that the potted plant was a carnivorous plant so that it could devour her while she's standing beside it, but no; it's just a small pine. She laughed mockingly at him in her usual "Kyahahaha" way before she tossed a lock of her hair off her face and approached him, "Reevee-dearest, why that frown on your face?" she asked with a wink.

He imagined her as a devil trying to tempt him to do something bad to her… like kill her at that instant.

"I thought you have a gig tonight too?" he asked coldly.

She moved away from him, sensing the harshness in his tone. "Ouch! You're suddenly hot-tempered?" she asked with a sarcastic tone.

He was just silent.

She put her hands behind her back and traced some of the lines on the floor with her feet, "Well… It's only Eris, Yuffie and Elena tonight… at Sector 4." She replied softly.

"Good to hear. We'll be in Sector 3 just in case you're interested… which I think you are," he said before he walked away from her.

She watched him quietly as he walked away before she went the other way going to the backstairs with a solemn smile on her face. Her ears were red and she had this pleased, almost ecstatic look on her face. She was fighting the urge to giggle like a teenager with her first love. She stiffened when she saw Rude coming her way.

Rude bowed down his head in greeting, "Good evening, Ma'am," he said.

She just made a face. "Hmf… good evening, Rude." She said before she hurried away.

Rude wondered what was wrong with Scarlet. But then again, "Oh well… there is always something wrong with that woman." He thought with a secret smile before proceeding upstairs.

            Yuffie, Aerith and Elena were backstage. "Tifa is not yet here… I wonder if she's alright…" Elena told them with a sad look on her face as she twirled a drumstick.

"We can do it even without Tifa, don't worry about it." Aerith said with a sweet smile on her face. Elena laughed at the sight of Aerith wearing the gothic make-up and attire but still smiling sweetly. "You should have your picture taken, Aerith. We'll label it _gothically sweet_. Heehee." She pointed out.

Aerith blinked and got a mirror and stared at her reflection. She made a face. "Ick… I really miss wearing pink. Black is making me look thinner…" she told them before she got up and checked her reflection on the dresser mirror. "But at least it's reducing the size of my hips and my butt!" she said.

"You think you have a big butt?" Yuffie asked.

"And hips. Yes." Aerith replied.

Yuffie giggled. "Heehee! Maybe then Cloud would say," she did a glum facial expression and spoke up with a goofy voice, "Baaaaah, my name is Cloud… and I'm blonde and I have Mako eyes… and when a lizard falls on my head, it dies! Baaaah… I like big butts and I cannot lie; and Cid and the others can't deny! Baaaah…"

Elena and Aerith burst out laughing at Yuffie's impersonation.

"Yeah, sometimes he seems to act like that whenever he's confused! Hahahahahah!" Yuffie pointed out while laughing with her friends.

They were still laughing even when Scarlet already entered the room. "Kyah! You girls sound so happy tonight," she pointed out with a slight smile on her face.

"Hello, Scarlet," Aerith greeted with a sweet smile on her face.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow at her, "Kyah… You'd better stop smiling like that while it's still early or you might end up doing that during your performance tonight!" she said.

"It's okay, Scarlet. I can control it… as long as Cloud doesn't show himself up to me… otherwise, I might really smile at him and end up scaring the audience," Aerith pointed out with a joking tone.

"Seriously, Aerith," Scarlet said before she sat down. "The boys are also having a gig tonight… but anyway, I have a few questions for you," she told her.

"What?" Aerith asked before she sat down beside Yuffie.

"You're seeing Cloud?" she asked.

Aerith nodded. "He already knows everything… and I'm planning to reveal who I really am to the crowd sooner or later… and regarding my plans with Cloud." She explained with a dreamy look on her face.

"Kyah! You can't do that!" Scarlet argued as she got up with a frantic look on her face.

"Why?" Aerith asked with a look of wonder on her face.

"The crowd loves you as you are! Don't you know that you have higher ratings than Tifa and the rest of the members of Prettier Than Pink?" Scarlet pointed out.

All of them fell silent upon hearing the truth.

"I… thought that Tifa was the crowd-pleaser. Why would anybody who's anybody even like Eris's attitude?" Yuffie asked in awe.

Aerith frowned slightly as she bowed down her head. "It's Eris who they like… not Aerith Gainsborough… and I hate it…" she muttered. She looked up at Scarlet with a sad look on her face, "And I want the world to know that Cloud Strife loves Aerith Gainsborough and not Eris!" she said with a determined tone.

"But you will not do that tonight. We still have to plan everything before you start ruining your reputation!" Scarlet argued.

"Why would I even ruin my reputation just because I… I love the other band's lead guitarist?" Aerith asked with a confused look on her face.

"Because in Prettier Than Pink, you are not Aerith. You are Eris." Scarlet answered with a cold look on her face.

It felt like a dagger that stabbed Aerith's heart several times. 

"You know, you should've set aside the Cloud thing while you're in this band. Without this band, you could still be stuck in ShinRa, imprisoned in your own room and not knowing how Cloud is." Scarlet said before she headed for the door.

"Who are you to say that to her? You are just our manager! You weren't there when we started the band!" Yuffie demanded.

"Kyahahahahaha! I am just trying to help you girls earn some fame and fortune! Be thankful that you stumbled upon me and that I accepted your offer to become your manager, otherwise, you could've been with an old geezer who will just take advantage of your talents and your bodies! Kyah!" Scarlet snapped impatiently before she got out of the room and slammed the door shut.

"GAWDS!!!" Yuffie exclaimed in annoyance before she kicked off her boots and placed her feet on top of a coffee table.

Aerith just smiled. "Fame? Fortune? What are they anyway?" she asked with a bitter look on her face.

            "Why did I come along with him anyway? I'm supposed to be resting… what if it's just for his publicity's sake… Rufus ShinRa dating a girl from the slums… No! Wait! I'm not from the slums anymore! I've already made a name for myself… Damn, I should stop thinking about that… rather, I should be asking him why he wanted to have dinner with me in this place." Tifa was thinking silently as she chewed on her food.

Rufus took her to a restaurant in Costa del Sol. Of all the places…

Rufus got Rude to pilot the chopper so that they could go to that place which is an ocean away from Midgar. To Tifa's awe, he dismissed Rude after they got down from the chopper, telling him to go back to Midgar and not to tell anyone where they are. She began to feel uncomfortable. 

"It's useless even if I told him that… because people here are going to see us and word will reach media men." Rufus was thinking silently as he took a sip of red wine.

"Rufus, don't mind me asking but… how are we going to get back to Midgar without Rude and the chopper?" she asked.

He put down his wine glass, "Guess." He told her.

She stiffened. "Guess?" she asked before proceeding to think. "Uhm… you'll call him after this and tell him to come back here?" she asked.

He shook his head.

She smiled slyly at him, "Okay… I guess I'll just be calling for my own transportation to go back to Midgar." She told him.

"Why would you even do that if we're taking a week's vacation here in Costa del Sol?" he asked with a cold look on his face.

She froze.

"We're staying at the ShinRa Villa. Just the two of us. You need it, Tifa." He told her.

She suddenly lost her appetite. "So you took me here because of…" she told him. He raised his hand to her to make her stop talking. "Why don't you just play along, Tifa? Cloud took a picture of the two of us making out on your bed. He shows it to the media and they'll all find out that we're together. Why not make it a reality instead of a dirty rumor?" he asked.

"Rufus, it won't be a rumor anymore if Cloud has a picture of us together!" she pointed out.

"My point is, before he could even say anything to the PRESS, we'll go into this publicity thing and…"

"Oh so you're just using me to get even with Cloud? I'm sorry, Rufus, but I'm out!" she got up, grabbed her purse and pulled out her mobile phone, ready to call for her own chopper, but he got up just in time to stop her, "Tifa, wait." He grabbed her wrist and made her look at him. She peered into his icy blue eyes and they still appeared so emotionless just like before. So how could she know if he's for real?

"And I thought this girl is sensitive…" Rufus was thinking to himself miserably before speaking up to her, "We have so much to talk about… just the two of us." He told her.

She bowed down her head and nodded. "Alright." She said before he led the way back to their table. Everyone was already looking at them curiously. 

The restaurant had televisions in it so that a bored diner could watch shows. Since Tifa lost her appetite, she just decided to look around the place as she remained seated, scanning the channels from the different TV sets that she can see from where she is… and she froze when she saw a live gig being aired. "How come the girls didn't tell me that they're going to have a gig tonight?!" she asked out loud, surprising Rufus.

He turned to look at the TV and then turned to another TV… and his band's gig is also being aired. He completely forgot about it. He just shrugged. "Never mind that." He told her.

"But…" she turned to the other TV and saw his band's gig. "Oh…" she said softly.

"Maybe they still think that you're sick that's why they had to perform without you. Don't worry, I'm sure they did not forget about you." He told her before he flipped his hair and got his wine glass with a sly smile on his face. "Everyone!" he called out.

All eyes turned to him.

Tifa's eyes widened. "Now what?" she was thinking quietly as she watched him flip his hair again. She blushed at the thought that he looked so cute and really intriguing whenever he's doing that.

"I just hope that I won't be sleeping in the same room with him tonight at the ShinRa Villa… I might turn so red and he'll think I'm having scarlet fever or something…" she thought silently with a secret smile on her face… and she really turned red when she heard him say, "I am announcing to everyone here in this exquisite place tonight that I am now officially betrothed to the most beautiful woman I have ever known: Miss Tifa Lockheart."

*** 

            "Only three more songs and it's over…" Cloud was reminding himself silently. Besides, it was already 11 in the evening and he was really tired… and he couldn't wait to see Aerith.

_Millionaire say, "Got a big-shot deal"…_

Reno, Cloud and Vincent listened carefully while playing. It wasn't really their composition. They just know that Rufus loved to sing that song… and the audience heard him sing it once in one of their previous gigs… and they wanted to hear it. But since Rufus isn't around, Sephiroth was the unlucky one to sing it.

_Remember today, I've no respect for you_

_And I miss you, love;_

_And I miss you, love…_

It sounded even strange without the piano. Even so, they hoped that the audience will appreciate their effort, that even without Rufus, they can still play. "Besides, I think they should be ready to accept the fact that Rufus cannot always be with us… because he's going to be really busy balancing career, hobbies and love life," Vincent was thinking quietly… and the thought of Lucrecia entered his mind again. He slowly gazed at Sephiroth from head to toe, remembering that he had tricked him. "How come this guy didn't tell me that his mother is alive?!" he thought silently.

_I love the way you love, but I hate the way I'm supposed to love you back…_

The song finally ended after some minutes. The audience applauded and cheered for them.

Sephiroth sighed heavily but did not say anything. He turned to Vincent. "You alright?" he asked.

Vincent just ignored him and spoke up against the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, I want this night to be special for everyone here… even to myself and to my fellow band-mates… and I hope I don't ruin it for singing this one song that's so close to my heart." He strummed.

Cloud frowned. "Not that song again…" he muttered to Sephiroth.

The _Lucrecia_ song.

Reno just bit his lower lip to stop himself from laughing… and just when Vincent was about to sing, the entrance door burst open and all eyes turned to the girl wearing a black leather tube top and a black leather mini-skirt standing by the door with a mean smile on her face.

_Eris_.

"SHIT! What is she doing here?!" Sephiroth demanded in annoyance.

The audience began to murmur to one another. Things like, "Maybe she's here to crash the party…" and "She's here to cause trouble…"

The goth girl instantly walked going to the stage, not caring if some guards were already prepared to seize her in case she does something stupid.

Cloud stared in awe at her.

"Cloud, you bastard! What the hell is she doing here?!" Reno demanded in shock.

"Cloud, I think it's best for you to tell your girlfriend to stay away while we're performing?!" Sephiroth scolded him.

"Aerith," Cloud said, snapping out of his trance upon seeing her.

The girl smiled sweetly at him. "Hello, Cloud," she greeted with a sweet tone… in her normal accent.

Everyone fell silent.

Cloud smiled at her and then turned to Sephiroth. "I can't ward her off, Sephiroth." He said calmly.

Everyone from the audience began to make a big fuss about her presence in the room. "Oh my goodness… her accent is fake!" they heard someone say.

"But… who is she?!"

"Aerith!" all eyes turned to the door when they heard Yuffie's voice. Yuffie, Elena and Scarlet stopped in their tracks when they saw Aerith climbing on the stage to go to Cloud.

"KYAH!!! Aerith, what the hell are you doing?! It's not yet time!" Scarlet shrieked.

"Oh my goodness!!! We should've tried to stop her when she took some tequila shots before the show…" Elena said with a weak smile on her face.

Yuffie was just wide-eyed as she stared at Aerith in disbelief.

Scarlet attempted to go to Aerith and drag her out of there but Reeve stepped in her way. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to keep off?" he asked with a demanding tone that surprised her. Since when did he learn how to do that… and of all people that he would talk to in that manner, it's Scarlet. He used to be passive when it comes to her, right?

Sephiroth stepped forward to _Eris_ with a deep frown on his face. "What the hell are you doing here?! Stay away from Cloud! He doesn't need a damn whore like you!" he snapped angrily at her.

"Oh so that's how you speak to an old friend who risked her life just to take you, your mother and Rufus back here in this Planet?!" Aerith demanded.

Sephiroth's eyes widened… and Reno's mouth dropped open. Vincent stared unbelievably at the goth girl.

Cloud approached Sephiroth and placed his hand around Aerith's shoulder, "Sephiroth, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Aerith Gainsborough of Prettier Than Pink." He said calmly.

Aerith smiled sweetly at Sephiroth as she giggled. "Finally, a _formal_ introduction." She said.

The whole room was silent until Reeve's mobile phone began to ring. Reeve checked the caller I.D. and saw that it was from a TV station. He answered the call, "Yes?"

"Mister Reeve, sir… we just got the latest scoop about your band! And we would just like to confirm it before we air it on the next news advisory!" the man from the other line responded rather excitedly.

Reeve frowned slightly, "What? The latest scoop? Whatever it is, it's happening right now… I guess… is this about Cloud and…"

"Well, sir, it's already going around Costa del Sol and word reached us that President Rufus ShinRa is now engaged to Miss Tifa Lockheart!" the man interrupted.

"WHAT?!" Reeve demanded in shock. He glared angrily at Scarlet before he hung up. "You're doing it all on purpose! How dare you use these girls to make my life even more miserable!" he snarled angrily, finally snapping.

Scarlet gaped unbelievably at him, "What?! Kyah! I don't know what you mean…" she trailed off when he grabbed her neck and began to strangle her. The audience began to panic and they all ran out of the area.

"Oh my GAWD!" Yuffie ran to Scarlet, followed by Elena. They tried to pull Scarlet away from Reeve but the man's become stronger.

Vincent put down his guitar and jumped off the stage, going to Reeve. "Stop it!" he said.

Sephiroth stared, dumbfounded. Reno, Cloud and Aerith also jumpted off the stage and tried to stop Reeve from killing Scarlet.

Sephiroth shook his head in confusion before he got his mobile phone from his pocket and dialed some numbers.

"Y…yes, Sephiroth?" a woman's voice from the other line answered after a few moments.

"Mommy… can you… prepare my medication? I think I'm beginning to hallucinate…" Sephiroth said weakly.

====================================================== 

Author's Note: Quite long, huh? Anyway, the song isn't mine… it belongs to Silverchair. I'm so sorry for the long delay… I'm beginning to be busy again… because it's already my on-the-job training… *faints*

But anyway, I don't know if you enjoyed this… but if you're beginning to get ticked off by some minor OOCs, let me just remind you that I'm completely aware of them… and I'm trying my best to maintain their character, but for the sake of the story and some humor whatsoever, I can't help but slip. Hey, nobody's perfect! Sorry if you're a purist. 

I know that this is one of my worst stories ever written because it's just like a spur-of-the-moment thing and I only get to write for this whenever there's free time to keep myself relaxed from the stress regarding work and studies and social life… so I apologize if I am like this. And I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell. *walks away*

HAH! IN YOUR FACE!


	16. Lucrecia's Revelation

Sixteen: Lucrecia's Revelation

            "I just don't understand what happened to him! He won't tell us anything; he just kept on saying, _make it stop, make it stop, make it stop_!" Reno explained to Lucrecia, imitating Sephiroth's voice too.

She just stared blankly at him.

Reno was silently thinking, "Well… maybe she's still having a nervous breakdown… so I think it's bad for me to try to explain to her… but what the hell…" 

She shook her head in disbelief as she watched Vincent, Cloud, Reeve, Yuffie, Elena and Aerith struggle to carry the heavy Sephiroth inside his bedroom and placed him on the bed.

"It's so amazing that the two groups are united now to carry a crazed patient. Kyah!" Scarlet remarked with a sarcastic look on her face.

Lucrecia noticed the red marks around Scarlet's neck but did not bother to ask about it anymore. She just approached her son. "Thank you," she told them as she touched Sephiroth's hands that were covering his face as he continued to say "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!" though muffled by his own hands.

They couldn't even tell if he's crying or not.

"Man… he's heavier than I thought. I think I'm going to develop muscles just by carrying him!" Yuffie remarked.

"My back hurts…" Elena muttered as she massaged her own lower back.

"Just step out of the room for a while. I'll take care of him." Lucrecia told them.

"You sure you can do it alone?" Cloud asked.

"Don't worry about me." She said reassuringly.

"But… you just had… an episode this afternoon…" Vincent began.

She turned to him and she has this soft smile on her face. "Stay here, Vincent." She said softly.

He blinked in awe. "Wh…what?" he asked, not being able to believe what he was hearing.

"We need to talk… and I want you to help me with Sephiroth," she replied before turning back to her son.

Cloud took Aerith's hand and led the way outside.

Elena and Reno followed after them, then Yuffie dragged Reeve and Scarlet with her. "Let's go, lovebirds," she teased the two.

"KYAH?!" Scarlet reacted in shock.

Yuffie shut the door.

Everyone was quiet for a few moments in the hallway until Yuffie broke the silence by giggling, "Heeheeheehee!"

"What do you think is so funny now?" Elena asked.

"For one moment I couldn't believe that we're all together. We should have our group picture taken together! Heeheeheehee!" Yuffie replied cheerfully as she jumped up and down.

"We'll do that later!" Reeve and Scarlet both snapped at her in unison.

Cloud, Reno, Yuffie, Aerith and Elena all jerked up in surprise upon hearing that. Cloud just bowed down his head and pretended to be interested on the floor while Reno began to fiddle with his wristband that's part of his get-up for the gig.

"We have to get Rufus and Tifa back here and have a word with them," Scarlet hissed.

"Can you tell us what happened and why your bloods are boiling hot just because of the two?" Reno demanded with an impatient tone. They don't really know the truth on why Reeve had to strangle Scarlet some moments ago… therefore, they don't know about the phone call regarding the betrothal of the keyboardists of the two bands.

Reeve took a deep breath before replying with a weak look on his face, "Reno and Cloud… if you are going to marry your girlfriends, please inform me first!" he said with a desperate tone.

Cloud raised an eyebrow at him but did not say anything.

Scarlet grabbed her loose locks of hair falling against the sides of her face and tugged at them in total annoyance. "KYAH!!!!! This is an outrage! I'm getting out of here!" she marched away from them. "Let's go, girls!" she snapped impatiently.

Yuffie just shrugged and followed after her.

Elena's eyes were wide in confusion as she said, "You know, I just don't get this situation at all because Mister Reeve didn't answer Cloud's question regarding why he had to strangle Miss Scarlet in the bistro moments ago and you know, it's really beginning to annoy me because I don't know what to think of this situation anymore; I mean, HELLO! We're all supposed to be working together, right? But how come it seems like they want us to be separated and divided whatsoever to create more tension in the entertainment business and I know that this is showbiz and it's full of glitz and glamour and fame and fortune and a lot of destructive things regarding relationships and some celebrities even marry ten times, FOR GOD'S SAKES! Ugh! I'm already confused and…"

"ELENA, YOU TALK TOO MUCH!" Reno, Aerith, Cloud and Reeve all exclaimed in unison.

Elena fell silent and she covered her mouth sheepishly before giggling. "Oops." She told them.

"Aw, c'mere, babe, I'm sorry," Reno told her before he took her in his arms and kissed her.

Cloud made a disgusted face, "I'm out of here…" he muttered miserably before he turned and walked away proceeding to his own room which is just beside Sephiroth's.

Aerith followed after him but she stopped when someone grabbed her wrist. She turned around and saw Scarlet sneering at her, "You're not going anywhere, sweetie. Come now." Scarlet told her as she pulled her going to the elevators. On their way, Scarlet snatched Elena away from Reno. "Let's go. It's bedtime! Don't want to get eyebags tomorrow morning for your shoot on your new music video, right?" she asked with a playful tone.

Elena just smiled dreamily at Reno while she's being dragged away by Scarlet. "Bye, darling!" she called out.

"Bye, Elena." Reno said, throwing flying kisses at her.

"Are you drunk or something?" Reeve asked with a sour look on his face.

Reno turned back to him. "No. That's why I'm going over to Rude right now and get some booze!" he walked away.

"You and Cloud seem so calm about parting with your girls," Reeve pointed out with an inquiring look on his face.

Reno did not answer, which made Reeve think, "Hmm… they all must've been seeing each other during free time that's why they're so calm about parting…" Without further ado, he cleared his throat to catch Reno and Cloud's attentions, but when they wouldn't turn to him, he just spoke up, "Starting tonight, you can never see them again."

The two froze.

Scarlet's eyes widened when she heard it too before they entered the elevator. She smiled victoriously. "Hmf! Finally…" she was thinking quietly before she examined the horrified looks on Aerith's and Elena's faces.

"Scarlet, do something!" Elena begged.

Scarlet just turned away and laughed, "Kyahahahahaha!"

            But Cloud and Reno were just quiet. They decided to ignore Reeve as they went to their own rooms… but they both have the same thoughts, "Try saying that to Rufus ShinRa. Hahahahaha…" and they both smiled secretly.

            Back in their suite in a condominium in Sector 1, Yuffie was telling her friends, "Hmf… if I know Scarlet and Reeve, they would probably take advantage of the situation and see each other more often while you're not allowed see Cloud and Reno. Heeheeheehee!" she laughed maliciously.

Elena stared unbelievably at her, "Geesh… the strange things that pop out from your head…" she muttered.

"Well just think of it like that! Who cares if you guys can't see Cloud or Reno? You can easily sneak out! Besides, they're separating us because they would like to tell the world how much they hate each other!" Yuffie explained.

The two were silent for a few moments before Elena spoke up again, "You mean this is all a war between Reeve and Scarlet right now?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well, it all started when she scheduled our gigs and concerts during the boys' gigs and concerts, right? It's like she's trying to get Reeve's attention…" Aerith pointed out.

The three girls began to laugh hysterically. "Man! That is so pathetic!" Yuffie laughed out loud.

"Aw… I think it's sweet of Scarlet… but she could've tried a different approach!" Aerith said with a dreamy look on her face.

Elena heard some footsteps approaching the door. "Incoming." She muttered before the three of them began to do something else. Elena fell back on the bed and pretended to be asleep as she faked some snores. Aerith began to apply cold cream on her face to get rid of the make-up, while Yuffie remained standing and played air guitar while singing wildly.

The door opened and there was Scarlet with an annoyed look on her face upon seeing Yuffie causing a big commotion. "Okay, what are you girls still doing here in Elena's room? She's already asleep." Scarlet said.

"I'm borrowing some cold cream." Aerith replied.

Yuffie continued to sing.

Scarlet just shook her head in disbelief before she left.

"I think it's time for us to play a little game on our dear manager… shall we?" Aerith asked with a mean smile on her face.

            Lucrecia prepared the syringe. "He called me up and told me to prepare his medication. He must've known that he's going to have an episode tonight. He hasn't had any for several months now," she explained softly to Vincent.

Vincent just remained seated on the couch by the bed, holding a basin of water and a washcloth. "It just surprised me… he seemed to be a very… happy boy…" he began, not really knowing how to describe Sephiroth's usual attitude. Though he was thinking, "Nah… he's not a happy boy. He's just… having mood swings… I guess…"

Sephiroth was still covering his face.

Vincent sighed heavily as he put down the basin of water and the washcloth on top of the bedside table. "I guess after he hung up on you, that's when he began to scream… and he almost burned down the place. I just tried to hold him back but he became frozen stiff in one place and I couldn't even move him…" he could clearly recall how Sephiroth's green eyes had widened as if he saw several ghosts all around him… and the silver-haired man just began to scream a "NOOOOO!!!!!" and grabbed his own head, clutching it tightly while yelling, "Make it stop… make it stop… make it stop!"

Vincent just bowed down his head and looked towards the window, eyeing the faint glow of the stars from outside. He realized that Sephiroth had the windows tinted that's why the stars looked so faint and the moon so dim. 

"It's… genetic, I guess… his… mental illness… as much as I would hate to admit it…" Lucrecia began with a solemn look on her face before she injected something into Sephiroth's left arm. 

Sephiroth was moaning in a way which they could not even determine if it is due to pain or suffering or he's hearing things or whatever…

When she was finished with the injection, she withdrew the needle from his skin and firmly pressed a cotton ball against the small puncture wound before she spoke up, "That's why someone needs to be strong for him…so I'm controlling myself." She turned her gaze towards Vincent, "I have to be strong for him… otherwise, he'd be so helpless that nobody could help him but me. Even Hojo couldn't help him before… and that bastard couldn't even help me… because he didn't care about me at all…" she taped the cotton ball against Sephiroth's arm and then placed the syringe on top of the bedside table before going to Vincent. "Just think, if I'm having a breakdown right now, and he's also having it too, there would be no escape…" she told him.

He was just silent, staring at her with a contemplative look on his face. She knelt down before him. "You understand, don't you?" she asked carefully. She had always thought that he hated her all those years because she had betrayed him for the sake of science. She smiled sadly at him when he did not reply, "I've always trusted you, Vincent… I always have and I always will… I'm sorry if… if I…" she let her tears fall.

Vincent's eyes slightly widened at the sight of her tears. 

They did not even notice that Sephiroth had stopped and eased up… and he slightly parted his fingers while his hands still covered his own face… and he was observing his mother and his friend.

"I… admire your strength now, Lucrecia," was all Vincent could say. He did not really know how to tell her how much he had missed her and how much he suffered just for her… he would not want to hurt her feelings the way she hurt his before.

She bit her lower lip before she got hold of his right hand and squeezed them gently, "I… have a confession to make… and… I feel that it is… a great sin for me not to reveal this to you but…" she hesitated with a trembling tone.

He bent down to her. "Lucrecia, I know that your biggest mistake was not being able to hold Sephiroth when he was born… and the only time that you got to hold him and take good care of him is… now…. Now that Hojo is gone…" he took a deep breath before proceeding, "I'm sorry if you love Hojo but… I _hate _him! I hate him for doing that to you and to Sephiroth… for some reason I just couldn't… couldn't accept it because I only wanted you to be happy even if the end result is an eternal damnation in my own world and having to sleep with nightmares in my mind… Lucrecia, you are…" he trailed off.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Geesh! This guy's really mushy as much as his songs could mention about him…" he was thinking silently.

Vincent smiled sadly at her, "…still my… beloved…" he continued with a solemn look in his eyes.

Her eyes widened upon hearing that and she covered her mouth as she gasped, "Oh my God?!" she felt her heart sinking. She slowly put down her hand and swallowed hard, "R…really, Vinny?" she asked with a look of disbelief on her face.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes.

Vincent was frozen. He couldn't believe he told her what he was feeling… and he suddenly felt so stupid. 

She chuckled lightly and embraced him. "Oh, Vincent!" she said happily as she rested her head on his shoulder.

He hesitated for a while before he finally decided to embrace her… but only wrapping his right arm around her. His left remained rested on the armrest of the couch.

Vincent was smiling, feeling so peaceful all of a sudden… he let his eyes roam around… until his gaze landed on Sephiroth who was staring at them curiously.

Sephiroth wasn't covering his face anymore and he was smiling wickedly at Vincent. Vincent's eyes widened as he shivered. He was about to say something regarding Sephiroth, but Lucrecia interrupted him, "Vincent, about… about my… sin…" she replied before she slowly withdrew from him. As she did so, her son immediately covered his face again and pretended to still be in a state of insanity. Vincent just ignored Sephiroth's "drama" and listened to Lucrecia. "I'll just deal with him later whether he's faking it or not!" he was thinking quietly before Lucrecia spoke up with a serious tone, "He's… yours."

Silence.

"What?" Vincent asked.

She smiled weakly at him. "He's yours…" she repeated with a nervous tone.

"Huh?" Sephiroth was thinking quietly.

"What do you mean? Who's… mine?" Vincent asked with a confused look on his face as he felt his own heart beating much faster than before.

Lucrecia pulled him to her and whispered in his ear, "Sephiroth is your son."

But Sephiroth is a special kind… so he heard his mother's whisper.

He slowly uncovered his face as he gaped at Vincent, his mouth dropped open in surprise and disbelief.

Vincent had the same reaction as Sephiroth.

The room was silent for several moments before Lucrecia had the courage to speak up again, "It's true, Vincent… I just… didn't tell Hojo… because I knew he'd kill the unborn child if he knew. I… I'm sorry if I… didn't tell… you… sooner…" she trailed off when she saw the way he was staring at her. She covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, Vincent…" she said as tears welled up in her eyes before she moved away from him, but she stopped when she heard him speak up softly, "You… you mean… you… didn't… I mean… Sephiroth is… I…" he did not know how to begin. He was so confused.

She frowned slightly as she got up in protest, "Don't tell me you forgot about what happened between the two of us before we went to Nibelheim for the JENOVA Project?!" she demanded with a high-pitched tone.

He also got up and grabbed her shoulders, "No! It's not that I've forgotten it… of course I'll always remember… that night…" he trailed off when he realized that Sephiroth was listening.

Lucrecia calmed down. "Oh, Vincent, I thought you'd forgotten already…" she said softly before she gave him a tight but loving embrace. Vincent still felt so uncomfortable. He couldn't believe what was happening to him… and he tried to hurt Sephiroth before! "Oh my goodness… I think I'll be the next one to have a nervous breakdown…" he was thinking silently with a sour look on his face as he eyed Sephiroth carefully. "Does… Sephiroth know?" he asked her.

She shook her head, "No, not yet… I wanted to reveal everything to him after I've revealed everything to you." She looked up at him, "Aren't you glad for the three of us, Vincent? Now we're all together!" she said happily.

He just smiled weakly at her. "Y…yes… I'm so glad, Lucrecia…" he told her. But she noticed that Vincent kept on glancing at Sephiroth, so she wondered if her son's doing well or not. She decided to turn to check on Sephiroth who was still staring at them in awe, but Vincent made her turn back to him again before she could even see her son's current physical state. "Lucrecia," he told her.

She was stunned at first before asking, "Yes, Vinny?"

Sephiroth made a face before slowly covering his face again. "Please… get out of here!" he wanted to say out loud, but he just kept quiet. After all, his mother supposed that he was already asleep because of the drug that she had injected into his bloodstream.

To his horror and… disgust, the two really started making out there in the room. Sephiroth's eyes widened before he turned to the other side and crouched as he covered himself with the blanket, hiding underneath the warm sheets. "Damn… don't tell me they're gonna do it on the floor?!" he was thinking silently.

"Oh, Vinny," Lucrecia said softly… rather lovingly.

"Oh, Lucrecia," Vincent responded.

"Oh mush…" Sephiroth thought silently with a glum look on his face. "It's gonna be a loooooong night." He thought miserably.

==========================================

Author's note: baaaaaaah…. *brain is clouded*. To be continued.


	17. They Rebel

Seventeen: They Rebel

            For breakfast, Cloud and Reno were already in the dining area eating. Moments after they have begun eating, Sephiroth arrived with a frustrated look on his face like he was not able to sleep at all.

"Good morning, Insanity." Reno greeted with a silly smile on his face.

"Are you feeling alright now?" Cloud asked.

"Yes but I wasn't able to sleep well last night." Sephiroth replied with a deep frown on his face as he sat down on his seat and got a cup of coffee.

"How come?" Cloud asked.

"If your parents started making out in front of you and remained in your room just doing… doing something… OH I DON'T KNOW!!!" Sephiroth pounded on the table before gulping down the hot coffee, surprising his two companions.

"Hojo is here?" Cloud asked while staring unbelievably at Sephiroth.

"No… it's just Vincent… and my mom." Sephiroth told them with a weak smile on his face.

The two fell silent.

Reno scratched his head before he got a strip of bacon from Sephiroth's plate and gobbled it all up, "Vincent isn't your dad, right?" he asked while chewing.

"Correction… he _is_ my real father." Sephiroth revealed.

Cloud's eyes widened. "Vincent is your dad?!" he asked in shock.

Before Sephiroth could answer, Reeve stepped inside with some newspapers and then placed them on top of the dining table before Cloud's plate. "Check out the front page of one of the tabloids and then front page of the entertainment section of every broadsheet." He said with a serious look on his face.

Cloud frowned slightly before shaking his head in disbelief. "Do I have to? I already know what to expect from what happened last night. Are you calling for a Press Con?" he asked.

"The Press Con will be at 9 today. Where's Vincent?" Reeve asked before he sat down.

Sephiroth just kept quiet.

"By the way, Sephiroth, how are you?" Reeve asked, turning to him.

"I'm alright," was all the silver-haired man could say with a blank look on his face.

Silence.

Reeve, Reno and Cloud exchanged quiet glances with one another before turning back to Sephiroth. "I think you should skip the Press Con today. Just… take a vacation for a while in Costa del Sol." Reeve suggested.

"What about the recording this afternoon?" Sephiroth asked.

"We'll just reschedule it. Besides, Rufus isn't around… and he diverted all the calls to his mobile phone to his office number here in ShinRa that's why I can't contact him decently… and he wouldn't answer my SMS nor my e-mails." Reeve explained.

"Where is that guy anyway?" Reno asked in confusion.

"They said he's in Costa del Sol… that's according to the rumor…" Reeve told them.

Silence.

"Costa del Sol?! What is he doing there?" Sephiroth asked in shock.

"I don't even know! But he's definitely with Tifa." Reeve sighed heavily before continuing, "That's the reason why I just snapped last night and lost my patience with Scarlet… strangling her… because I thought she's doing it on purpose: telling her girls to go and _seduce_ you guys so that she can get even with me…That's how she hates me, you know… she wants me to be disappointed… and I think what she's doing now is to cause a breakdown in your togetherness by letting her girls interfere with your career! And now word is going around Costa del Sol and it's also in the news that Rufus has announced his betrothal to Tifa last night! That's the last straw! What if Scarlet's just using Tifa to _seduce_ Rufus so that when she's able to lure Rufus, he will back out from the band and leave you guys alone to take care of his own family life and Presidency?!"

Cloud frowned at him while scratching his head, "I don't think Tifa's the kind of person who would let another person like Scarlet to use her just like that." He told them.

"Elena definitely didn't seduce me, in case you're wondering." Reno told him with a joking tone. Cloud just shrugged. "And I wouldn't exactly call it _seduction_ when it comes to Aerith…" he trailed off when they noticed Sephiroth clutching his own head again. "AAARGH!" he growled.

"What's wrong with you?" Reeve asked.

"It's… word association… if you say _that word_, a horrible image just pops into my mind!!!" Sephiroth replied helplessly.

"Wh…what is the word?" Reeve asked, suddenly clueless.

"_Seduction_." Reno pointed out with feelings while eyeing Sephiroth maliciously.

"And what's that horrible image?" Cloud asked.

"The things that happened last night… in my own bedroom… it was…" Sephiroth began.

"Good morning, everybody!" Vincent's voice echoed all over the whole room as he entered.

Sephiroth's eyes widened as he slowly turned to look at the approaching Vincent who was on his way to sit next to him.

"For the first time you sound so happy," Cloud told Vincent rather frankly.

"I should be happy… and I _am_ happy." Vincent replied with a solemn smile on his face, but a slight blush was forming on his cheeks.

"Why? What happened?" Reeve asked, suddenly curious.

Vincent noticed from the corner of his eye that Sephiroth was gaping at him. He slowly turned towards the silver-haired man. "Anything wrong?" he asked rather gently.

Sephiroth was already hyperventilating.

Vincent raised his eyebrows at him. "Are you alright?" he asked as he moved to touch Sephiroth's arm with his normal hand, but Sephiroth immediately moved away from him. "Hold on a minute…" he said.

Everyone fell silent. Vincent was surprised.

Sephiroth eyed him carefully before turning to Reeve. "I've made my decision. I'll just remain serious with my First Class Soldier work and… just go find yourselves another bassist." He told them before he got up.

"What?!" Reeve instantly got up. Cloud accidentally dropped his spoon on the floor while Reno almost choked on his food.

Vincent's mouth dropped open. "Sephiroth, why the sudden decision?" he asked.

Sephiroth was just silent.

Vincent frowned slightly before he got up and grabbed Sephiroth's hand and dragged him outside the room going to the hallway. As soon as they were away from the others, Vincent let go of him and spoke up with a serious tone, "You know, right? You were listening." He said.

"Hell yeah. And you two really gave me nightmares last night and I couldn't sleep!" Sephiroth replied.

"Are you even aware that I was just on the couch and she's got the TV on and she's watching a romance flick while she's seated on the floor by your bed?" Vincent asked.

Silence.

"You were covering yourself with the blanket that's why you weren't able to see everything." Vincent continued.

"You were making out with mom before I hid under the blanket." Sephiroth told him.

"Yes, I was, but nothing happened beyond that!" Vincent told him.

Sephiroth just stared blankly at him. "You know very well that if you treat my mother the way Hojo treated her, I'd kill you with my Masamune, right?" he asked.

Vincent was silent for a while before smiling somewhat slyly at him, "_Which_ Masamune?" he asked.

Sephiroth laughed at the pun. "You really know me." He said before embracing Vincent.

Vincent was rather surprised at his sudden action but he eased up when he saw Lucrecia just standing by one of the posts and watching them. He smiled calmly at her before he returned Sephiroth's embrace. "Of course, son, of course." He said softly.

*** 

_And I'm yours but only until I wake up…_

_At least that's what I know_

_But I'm just a white rose being loved by you._

_I'm just an object of desire, not of affection._

_So true; it's too good to be true…_

_But it's a fact and there's no way I cannot deny it_

_That I am just a white rose being loved by you;_

_An insensitive you…_

Scarlet was listening to Aerith singing the song while inside the recording booth. Contemplating on the lyrics, she suddenly lost track of reality and her mind just began to drift off… even when the song has ended already.

It was already three in the afternoon and they have finished shooting a music video in the morning, and during lunch time, they had a Press Con regarding Eris's switch to Aerith. And then recording for their new album.

She did not notice that the girls were already staring at her, wondering why she looked so distant all of a sudden. Yuffie knocked against the glass window dividing the recording booth from the studio, making her snap out of her trance and get back to reality. 

Yuffie smiled rather teasingly at her. "Next song?" she mouthed.

Scarlet just frowned and turned to the director, giving some signals.

Aerith sighed heavily before she put down her guitar. The goth make-up is gone and she has braided her hair already… and she is already wearing a pink sundress. The sudden change of image received several protests at first not only from Scarlet but also from the recording company where they belong, but she did not really mind. All she said was, "Let's just see if the audience will like the real me and not the goth girl that I used to be." 

But the only publicity they had for that day was the Press Con.

The media was still thinking about it.

"Well, at least it adds up to our image that we're girls with an attitude despite the cheesy name and the gender." Elena told the media earlier.

Yuffie and Elena were eyeing Aerith carefully, noticing that she was studying Scarlet while the blonde woman was talking to the director and flipping through some sheets of paper where some lyrics and notes are written.

"What are you thinking of, Aerith?" Elena asked.

Aerith just smiled and turned the two. "Let's go to Costa del Sol." She said.

"Like, when?" Yuffie asked in awe.

"Like, right now?" Aerith answered with a wink before she carefully put down her guitar. Yuffie put down her own guitar on the floor as she asked, "Why are we going to Costa del Sol?" she asked.

"Because I want to." Aerith replied with a silly smile on her face. Elena hesitated for a while before putting her drumsticks on her chair after she got up. "But… what if Scarlet protests?" she asked.

"She wouldn't protest if we didn't tell her. Now let's go." Aerith said as she led the way to the back door when Scarlet wasn't looking since she's so busy arguing with the technical director and the technician.

The technician already noticed the three girls leaving, but when he tried to interrupt Scarlet, she would not even give a damn about him so he just shut up.

The three girls finally got out of the studio and rushed to Elena's blue convertible. "Are we flying there or by boat?" she asked as they got inside the car.

"We'll take my yacht going there." Aerith told her before she got her dark sunglasses. "And wear your shades. Don't wanna get recognized easily." She told them while thinking silently, "Everybody wants the rebel Eris, I'm giving them the rebel Eris." 

            Tifa just remained seated on the beach blanket as she applied more sunblock on herself. She wouldn't risk getting a tan, otherwise, Scarlet would question where she went. She was wearing dark sunglasses over her eyes so that she would not really get recognized so easily. 

Rufus ordered a bikini for her but she refused to wear it because it's red. However, he began to display some temper tantrums on other people, so she thought that she's the cause of it… but he would not get angry at her.

So she decided to wear the bikini… but she wore a loose black T-shirt over it and long shorts. She has no intention of taking off the clothes and showing off her body and the bikini…

Rufus, who was wearing black swimming trunks, approached her with a glass of peach mango juice and handed it to her. "You sure you don't want to swim?" he asked with a slight frown on his face. Tifa could just imagine the look in his eyes, even though she could not really see his eyes because he's also wearing dark glasses. She just shook her head. "What's that?" she asked as she took the glass.

"Peach mango juice. I'm sure you're thirsty." He told her.

She was surprised at him. "You actually ordered this for me?" she asked.

"No. It's for me. Just hold it while I'm in the ocean." He said rather coldly before he patted Dark Nation who was asleep beside Tifa. With that, Rufus rushed to the sea.

Tifa's mouth twisted in a disappointed pout. "What. Is. Wrong. With. Your. Master." She muttered miserably.

Dark Nation just purred as she rested her head on Tifa's lap. Tifa smiled sweetly at the cat. "Suddenly you're awake." She said.

Dark Nation opened her eyes and peered at Tifa. "Meowrrr…" she said softly, her purr growing louder.

Tifa began to stroke Dark Nation's fur as she thought silently, "This is really for real… but… how come he's acting like he's just using me?" she thought silently before she got her mobile phone when she heard it ringing. She answered the call after the placed the glass on top of a book. "Aerith?" she asked in awe.

"Hey, Teef. Turn around," the voice from the other line answered.

Tifa raised an eyebrow before she slowly turned to look at what's behind her. A little bit far from where she is, three girls in bikinis and bathing suits were seated around a table with an umbrella on it while drinking some iced tea. 

The girl with short brown hair wearing a green bathing suit waved happily at Tifa. Tifa smiled in relief. "Yuffie!" she recognized despite the sunglasses over Yuffie's eyes.

Suddenly a thought entered her mind: they could easily get recognized because they're all wearing sunglasses. But she just dismissed the idea when Aerith spoke up again, "Shall we come over there?" 

Tifa nodded. "Yeah. Rufus is swimming over there." Tifa said, pointing towards the ocean.

From the sea, Rufus was watching the three girls approaching his fiancée. He frowned slightly before he got out of the water and walked over to them. "Well, well, what have we got here? Prettier Than Pink?" he asked.

Aerith removed her shades and smiled sweetly at Rufus. "Hey, Ruffy! How's it goin'?" she greeted happily.

His eyes widened in shock. "Wha…what the…" he began.

Tifa giggled, "I can't believe you're able to recognize them easily." She told him.

"It's obvious… but… Aerith?" he said, still confused.

"The girl formerly known as _Eris_." Aerith told him.

Silence.

"Looks like somebody missed reading the entertainment section of the newspaper today!" Yuffie said airily before nudging Rufus's arm.

He frowned at her before he moved away. "Why would I even read the entertainment section? I go straight to the Business Section." He snapped. "Now, you owe me an explanation, Miss Aerith." Rufus told Aerith with a serious look on his face.

"I'll explain later." She said softly before Tifa got up and handed the glass to Rufus. "Here you go." And left with Dark Nation. Rufus watched as the two walked away from him.

"So… we've read about your betrothal to Tifa," Elena said casually.

"Look here, buster. If you are just using Tifa, you'd better…" Yuffie began as she slightly pushed Rufus, but he remained still and snapped at her, "I am not using her!" He flipped his hair before turning to Aerith, "Your little boyfriend took a picture of me and Tifa yesterday while we were on bed…"

"YOU WERE ON BED WITH TIFA?!?!?" Elena and Yuffie both cried out in unison. "OH MY GAWD!!!!!?????" Yuffie added.

He stomped his foot. "Would you please save those comments for later?" he calmed down and flipped his hair again. "I knew he'd show it to the media to blackmail me for actually participating in Sephiroth's plan to lie about Aerith… so before he starts a rumor about me and Tifa, I just thought, why not go ahead of him?"

"Go ahead of him?" Aerith asked.

He flipped his hair again and arrogantly smiled at the three girls, "It's going to embarrass Cloud if ever he starts that rumor because that _rumor_ is already true. Do you get my point?" he asked.

The three were just silent.

"So you're just using Tifa to get even with Cloud?" Yuffie muttered.

He rolled his eyes. "No." and then flipped his hair again. "And this is also _against_ Reeve's wishes… I'm making people's lives miserable here by just being with her." He told them.

"So you are just using her." Elena said after a few moments of silence.

"NO!" he snapped impatiently. "Why would I even use her in the first place when I'm really…" he trailed off when he heard a familiar voice shout from afar, "AHOY!!!"

The four froze as they slowly turned to the direction where the voice came from… and there was Sephiroth wearing green swimming trunks carrying his Masamune.

Vincent, Cloud and Reno were with him… but wearing surfer shorts instead of spandex swimming trunks like Sephiroth's.

"What the bloody hell are the four of you doing here?!" Rufus demanded, but still maintaining a cool facial expression as he flipped his hair… though deep inside, he was really beginning to get ticked off by the situation. He had opted to go to Costa del Sol so that he could spend more time with Tifa and maybe, eventually, tell her how he really felt. He knew so well that she's thinking that he's just using her. But he could not do anything about it. He wasn't really the vocal type of person to voice out his thoughts about other people whenever it concerns about love. He was just hoping that even if he doesn't tell her for the meantime, she could still realize it through the gifts he's giving to her.

"Why, is it bad for your boybuds to hang out here in Costa del Sol with you?" Reno asked with a silly smile on his face.

"Watch how you're talking to me, Reno. You're still a Turk." Rufus snapped.

"Yeah, whatever, boss. You suck big time! Yeah!" Reno said with a mocking tone before laughing and then turning to Elena, "Hey, babe," he greeted with a suave smile on his face.

Elena smiled rather weakly at him. "H…hi, Reno." She said.

"Never mind… is the Urban Development Dork with you?" Rufus asked.

"No… but he's really mad at you for letting yourself get betrothed to Tifa," Cloud pointed out before he got the glass of peach mango juice from Rufus's grasp and began to drink.

"Because he thinks that Scarlet's using Tifa as a tool for seduction… so that you'll fall in-love with her and then get out of the band and make the others miserable." Reno explained.

Sephiroth froze and eyed Vincent miserably, "I can't believe he said that word again…" he said.

Vincent frowned slightly, "What's wrong about _seduction_?" he asked.

"Doh! You said it again!" Sephiroth snapped.

"You know, the two of you are father and son but you still act like you're friends." Cloud pointed out before approaching Aerith.

Rufus raised an eyebrow while Yuffie, Elena and Aerith stared in awe at Cloud. "What?" Yuffie asked.

"It's a long story." Sephiroth muttered.

They were silent for a few moments before Tifa returned with Dark Nation. "Rufus," she said with an excited singsong tone.

"What is it?" he asked, turning to her before flipping his hair. "Meowrrr…" Dark Nation suddenly looked exhausted.  "What's wrong with her? Where did you take her?" he demanded.

"I just took her for a walk. I think she needed to poop. And I noticed that she's got a bigger… tummy… I think she's pregnant, Rufus." Tifa presented with a sweet smile on her face.

Rufus was stunned.

Cloud patted Dark Nation's head while chuckling lightly, "Hey, Aerith, looks like Red scored big time with Darky over here. Heheh."

Aerith raised her eyebrows as she smiled excitedly. "Really?!" she asked in awe.

"While we were walking, some people noticed it too. Isn't it wonderful, Rufus? Dark Nation's going to have kittens!" Tifa said excitedly.

Rufus just kept quiet with a stiff look on his face.

Sephiroth nudged him with a malicious smile on his face. "Looks like your cat got devirginized before you! Mwahahahaha!" he insulted.

Rufus elbowed his stomach. "Oomph! Watch it, you ShinRa Brat!" Sephiroth cried out in slight pain. Rufus just flipped his hair and turned to Tifa. "Let's get out of here. I don't like being disturbed." He told her rather arrogantly before he got her hand and dragged her with him. Dark Nation followed after them.

"What's the matter, Rufus? You hate your friends for crashing your party?" Sephiroth called out with a mocking tone.

"Frankly speaking, yes." Rufus responded stiffly.

Everybody froze. They were not able to say anything else until Rufus and Tifa finally got out of the beach, heading back to the hotel. "Okay… what is wrong with him?" Sephiroth asked, turning to Cloud, Vincent and Reno.

"He's got an attitude problem, please bear with him. At least you did not work for him in ShinRa. You should see him get mad at his employees during meetings." Reno said before he spread the beach blanket on the sand. Sephiroth turned to the girls, "And what, may I ask, are you damsels doing here?" he asked.

"May I ask you the same question, you bunch of dudes?" Yuffie asked with mean smile on her face.

"We're taking a vacation without Reeve knowing it." Reno explained. "Because that guy doesn't only need a shave, but a life." Sephiroth continued before he sat down on the beach blanket and nudged Reno, "Hey, get us some hotdogs and some soda." He said.

"What?! Why me?" Reno demanded.

"Because we don't have a personal maid here. Duh." Sephiroth replied.

Reno got up with a grunt and got Elena's hand, "C'mon Elena, let's buy some hotdogs for Mister Valentine." He said as he dragged her with him.

"Mister Valentine?" Elena asked.

Reno began to explain on their way to the hotdog stand.

Yuffie and Aerith just decided to use the beach blanket that Tifa had used moments ago before leaving. "We left Scarlet. It's like we're on strike." Aerith explained.

"No, actually, we're sick of that Lady in Red telling us what to do… scheduling consecutive concerts each night that you'll have concerts. It's beginning to tire us… and to think that she's just trying to catch that Urban Development Dork's attention! GAWDS! It's too much! She wants us to treat you guys like a buncha dweebs." Yuffie pointed out with a disgusted look on her face.

Cloud, Vincent and Sephiroth all stared at them in disbelief. "That's exactly the same reason why we decided to take a break for a while." Vincent pointed out.

"Scarlet?" Aerith asked.

"And Reeve." Sephiroth added.

Silence.

"When are you planning to go back to Midgar?" Yuffie asked.

"Let our managers come here for us. They need to learn how to cooperate." Cloud told her before he lied down on the beach blanket, feeling so relaxed. "Hey, did anyone bring any sunblock?"

Silence.

"And by the way, you still haven't explained to Aerith and Yuffie about the father-son thing going on between you and Vincent." Cloud pointed out to Sephiroth before he took off his sunglasses while yawning.

            "Rufus, aren't you going to talk to your friends?" Tifa asked curiously.

"Not interested." He answered stiffly before he entered the bathroom and shut the door, locking it.

Tifa just crossed her arms and sat down on his bed, waiting for him to get out. He only stayed there for less than a minute, and when he came out again, he was already wearing a blue robe. She frowned at him, "You don't seem excited about the presence of your friends and mine in this place," she told him.

"Because this is my only chance to be alone and then they're here to bother me." He told her.

"Well… if this is your chance to be alone, then why did you take me here with you? So that you can show me off to people? So that the media will know that we're together but in truth, this is just set-up because you want to prove to your guy friends and to everyone that you're not gay and you can hook up with some woman? Is that it?!" Tifa demanded. She finally lost her patience.

Rufus was stunned.

She got up and placed her hands on her hips, "Well then, Mister ShinRa, Miss Lockheart is not going to let you have your way anymore. So I'm going out there right now and be with my friends because that's where I want to be and not with you, do you get what I'm sayin'?" she snapped with a threatening look on her face before she showed him an angry fist and walked out of the room, leaving an awe-struck Rufus who just stood still in one place, contemplating the whole situation. "Oh. My. God…" he muttered to himself, his blue eyes wide in shock.

"They will eventually know where we are. People here know that Tifa and Rufus are taking a vacation here… and eventually, we'll all get recognized." Aerith explained after she started to drink her soda.

"And speaking of Tifa…" Sephiroth said while looking at one particular direction.

Tifa was marching frustratingly to them with clenched fists and an angry look on her face. She finally reached them and sat down beside Aerith. She grabbed the soda that Sephiroth was drinking and then she removed the straw and gulped down the contents, leaving nothing for him. But still, she returned the empty bottle to him, "Thanks," and wiped her mouth with the back of her right hand. She took a deep breath, released it, and then smiled cheerfully at all of them, "So, did I miss anything?" she asked cheerfully.

Everyone exchanged confused glances and felt freaked-out with her sudden behavior. Sephiroth got up and smiled hesitantly at them, "Er… I'll just buy more soda." He told them before he walked away.

Cloud got up, following after Sephiroth, "I'll go with you!" he said, running after him. Yuffie, Elena and Reno got up and followed after the two. "I think I'd like more hotdogs…" Yuffie said.

"I'll get an ice cream." Elena said.

"Gotta have booze." Reno stated with a weak smile on his face.

Aerith and Vincent were the only ones left there with Tifa, just seated and drinking while looking at her.

"Where's Rufus?" Vincent asked mindlessly.

            "Kyah! For some damn reason, I can't find them! Don't tell me they just left without my permission?!" Scarlet snapped anxiously at the guard.

"Well… we did not really notice them, ma'am…" the guard replied sheepishly.

"KYAH!" she screeched, then froze. She frowned angrily before getting her mobile phone. "They're not even answering my calls… what if someone kidnapped them…" she realized that her phone was ringing. It was Reeve. Her eyes widened before answering the call with a sneer, "What do you want, you stupid Urban Development Dork?" she demanded.

"Okay, Scarlet, where are my boys?" Reeve demanded angrily at her, his voice loud enough even for the guard to hear.

"What are you talking about? I think your damn boys kidnapped my girls!" she snapped angrily at him.

"They can never be capable of doing that even if one of them's a Turk!" Reeve defended.

"Oh yeah? Well you've got Sephiroth and he looks like a sex maniac!" she snapped.

"How dare you accuse of Sephiroth of being a sex maniac! He hasn't done anything! You're just frustrated because maybe you cannot get him to go to bed with you!" he snapped back.

She gasped, "WHAT?! KYAH! You stupid Urban Development Dork! Why would I even go to bed with that disgusting silver-haired macho man?" she snapped.

"That's exactly why. He's a macho man. You love those men, right?" he asked.

She felt somewhat appalled by his sudden way of treatment and behavior towards her. Used to be, he would be so passive, now, he's very defensive… and it's really clear to her now that _he hates her_. To her wonder, it _hurt _her. She walked away, going to her car. "How dare you judge me like that! Where is your proof? You have no right to say those… those hurtful things to me… you stupid Urban Development Dork!" she snapped with a tone that seemed to falter.

"Yeah right. And may I say the same thing but this time, in my case?" he asked.

She shook her head in disbelief, "Listen, you stupid Urban Development Dork, I don't have all day. My girls are going to be on TV later on for an interview in two talk shows, and one radio interview at 6 tonight. Aren't you satisfied that Rufus had claimed Tifa already?" she snapped impatiently.

"Actually I think it's Tifa who claimed Rufus." He told her.

"Forget about those two! Look, can't we just meet in one place and talk about this?" she snapped.

"I can't. I'm busy with my Urban Development activities this afternoon because the boys are missing and they won't answer my calls or messages." He answered glumly.

Her eyes widened as she opened the door to the passenger's seat as she gasped, "KYAH!!! What if… they all eloped?!" she supposed.

"What?!" he demanded.

She shook her head, wanting to snap out of her nasty thoughts as she got inside the car, "Reeve, we need to talk about this personally." She told him sternly.

"What for? There is nothing else to be discussed about." He told her.

"Yes, there is! It's not just… them… it's about…" she began, having a shrinking feeling in her.

He was silent for a few moments before he finally hung up. Her eyes widened, "R…Reeve? Hello?" she called out.

She could only hear the dial tone. Annoyed, she threw her mobile phone on the empty seat beside her and then shut the door. "This is really war…" she muttered angrily before she started the engine.

=========================== 

to be continued. Baaaaah…..

A.N.: I swear, I need inspiration….. @o@'


	18. Love Song

**_Us Against the Music_**

By General Quistis

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or Square Enix… or its characters. But the story plot is mine. Any resemblances to any other plots is purely coincidental.

**Author's Note**: Very long delay, I know, and I'm so conscious of it. I didn't abandon this story, it's just that I am so uninspired to write for this because I can't think of anything to write for this anymore… rather, I've had several inspirations for other fics and original stories. But anyway, here you go… the 18th chapter. If you want to help out with this fic, please feel free to email me at or suggest ideas when you review this. Thanks so much. ;;

**_Eighteen: Love Song_**

"Mwahahahahaha! Look at this! Look at this! Look at this!" Sephiroth called out with a pleased look on his face while laughing out loud. He was sitting on a couch watching TV.

Vincent and Cloud exchanged disturbed looks before going to Sephiroth and joined him.

"What are you watching?" Cloud asked.

"Shh! Listen!" Sephiroth told them.

It was a TV show where all they did was talk about the latest gossip and stories and features about celebrities…

Cloud's mouth dropped open when he realized that they were the topic.

Vincent shook his head in shame before turning away. "I don't want to look." He muttered before going back to the room inside their suite where Rufus was just doing his usual paperwork, computations and documents. "Is that the way you face your problems? Drowning yourself in paperwork?" he asked, staring pitifully at his friend.

"Leave me alone. I'm busy. Besides, Tifa kicked me out of our room so I'm staying here for a while." Rufus said, not even bothering to look at him.

"Correction, _you_ kicked yourself out of your own room because you can't take the fact that Tifa is mad at you." Vincent said with a hard tone.

Rufus just snorted and continued to type furiously on his laptop keyboard.

"Why don't you tell her you're sorry?" Vincent asked.

Rufus stiffened and his frown deepened, but he did not say anything. He just continued to type faster.

Vincent was quiet for a while before saying, "Your engagement to her is already all over the news… and critics think that it's sweet of someone like you to fall in-love with someone like her."

Rufus clenched his teeth as he reached for his calculator.

Vincent proceeded, "And news also revealed that Reeve and Scarlet are already in each other's necks."

"Like they weren't in each other's necks before…" Rufus said sarcastically.

"This time it's personal. More personal… if you know what I mean." Vincent said.

Rufus just ignored him.

Vincent just shook his head hopelessly before deciding to just leave the room and head back to the TV area where Sephiroth and Cloud are still watching TV while Reno was seated by the window, drinking some canned beer.

"So, how did your persuasion work, daddy?" Sephiroth asked with a playful grin on his face.

Vincent just sat down beside him and crossed his arms, "The man's got too much pride." He mumbled.

Cloud thought for a while before deciding to get up and winked at them, "Watch this," he said before going to Rufus.

Rufus looked up to the doorway when he heard Cloud stomp his way to the room. He saw the sly smile on Cloud's face. "So, I heard you and Tifa are over, huh?" he asked.

Rufus just stared at him.

Cloud laughed smugly before approaching him, sitting down on the bed with his back facing Rufus as he began, "You know, Tifa's such a lovely girl… I've always thought so ever since we were children. But she's always with the popular crowd and I was simply a loser… and I was not really able to approach her properly. So I wanted to become a SOLDIER to prove to her that I am something… and I promised her that whenever she's in trouble, I'll be there to save her; rescue her out of it. Then we were apart for so long, I so darn missed her! I thought that when I met Aerith, I had forgotten about _my love for Tifa_…"

From the doorway, Sephiroth and Reno were watching secretly from the slightly-opened door. They saw the enraged look on Rufus's face and the insincere look on Cloud's face, revealing to them that he's just saying those things to piss off Rufus but they're not really true.

"Heheheh. This is priceless!" Reno muttered.

"Yeah! Mwahahahaha! I wish we had a camcorder to record all of this!" Sephiroth responded excitedly.

Cloud made a move to flip his hair, as if imitating Rufus before turning around slightly to face him, "And now that you left Tifa, I guess she's mine again?" he asked airily… and his mouth dropped open in protest when he saw Rufus holding the laptop up above his head and then just used it to hit him on the head.

Sephiroth and Reno were shocked to see Rufus hit Cloud's head with the laptop.

"Ow!!!" Cloud cried out.

"Who said that Tifa's yours?! She's mine!!!" Rufus snarled angrily before repeatedly hitting Cloud with it.

Cloud's eyes widened upon seeing his reaction. "Shit! He's like a wild animal!!!" he thought in sudden shock.

From where Vincent is seated, watching television, he could hear crashes and cries of pain and cussing from inside the room where Rufus and Cloud were. "This is going to be a looooong afternoon." He muttered miserably.

* * *

"I'll have one large order of French fries, one large glass of soda, one double cheeseburger and make it well-done… and then one banana split!" Aerith told the waiter.

Yuffie, Elena and Tifa stared unbelievably at her before giving their orders to the waiter, "I'll… just have a Caesar salad… plus a cheeseburger and fries… and bottomless iced tea!" Yuffie said cheerfully.

Elena took one last glance at the menu before turning back to the waiter, "I'll just have Salisbury steak and bottomless iced tea…" she said.

Tifa just sighed heavily before saying, "Red wine. And bring two glasses, please."

Silence.

The waiter left.

"Red wine? Isn't it too early to get drunk?" Aerith asked.

"And when did you learn to drink red wine?" Yuffie asked.

"Ever since I got engaged to Rufus ShinRa." Tifa replied before getting her mobile phone. "And why are we all having our dinner alone here while we could invite our boys over?" she asked with a wink before starting to dial Rufus's number.

"Yeeuch! I don't have boys in that other group!" Yuffie complained.

While waiting for Tifa, Yuffie began to comment on Aerith and her orders, "You know, if Scarlet was here, she'd say that all the fat in your food is gonna go down all the way to your thighs and hips…"

"…and butt. Yes, I know. Don't care! My metabolism is fast anyway." Aerith said with a wink.

"Oh right…" Elena said, nodding with a silly smile on her face.

Aerith raised her eyebrows at her, "Huh?"

Elena giggled, "It's just that Cloud likes big butts and he cannot lie…"

Yuffie snickered, "…and Cid and the others can't deny! Heeheeheeheehee!"

Aerith blushed slightly. "Oh come on…" she said quite sheepishly before turning to Tifa when she heard her talk on the phone, "Hello? Rufus?"

Yuffie blinked. "I thought they had a fight?" she asked.

"Maybe she apologized to him while we weren't looking." Elena said.

Tifa raised an eyebrow and she said, "Cloud?"

And they heard a loud crash from the other line… it was so loud that even Yuffie, Elena and Aerith heard it from the mobile phone itself.

"What's happening there?" Tifa asked.

"Tifa, help me! Your boyfriend's snapped!!!" Cloud shouted.

Aerith's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness! Rufus is going to murder Cloud!" she gasped before she got up and ran out of the lobby restaurant, heading for the elevators.

"Aerith!" Tifa went after her, hanging up on Cloud.

* * *

_Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet… a.k.a. in Midgar…_

__

Rude, the only Turk left in HQ jerked up in surprise when he heard the PHS ringing. He instantly picked it up and answered it, "H..hello? Yes? Turk Lounge. This is Rude."

"Kyah! Come into my office this instant. I have something for you to do." Scarlet responded from the other line with a stiff tone before hanging up.

Rude scratched his head before deciding to finally go, but he froze in his tracks when he heard the PHS ringing again. He rushed back to the PHS and picked it up, answering the call, "Turk Lounge; this is Rude."

"Yes, this is Reeve. I'd like to speak to you. I have something for you to do. I'm in my office."

Rude's eyes widened behind the dark shades he was wearing and his mouth slightly went dry. "Oh no… the two of them… at the same time…" he was thinking quietly before asking out loud, "Is this urgent, sir?"

"Very urgent." And Reeve hung up.

Rude slowly put down the PHS on the coffee table before wiping the sweat from his shiny bald head. "Maybe Miss Scarlet will be quick… and since she gets impatient easily, I guess I'll go to her first, then Mister Reeve," he thought silently before he finally left the office.

Scarlet was tapping her pen on her table with a grouchy look on her face. She was staring at the documents that she has been trying to write ever since that morning, but she could not really concentrate. "Kyah… where the hell is that bald Turk?" she was thinking quietly. She slammed the pen hard on the table before crossed her arms across her chest and crossed her legs. She raised her eyebrows and eyed the door when she heard someone enter. It was Rude. "Finally!" she stated out loud before she got up.

"Yes, Miss Scarlet?" he asked.

She stepped away from her desk and approached him who had just remained standing by the door. "I want you to do something for me." She told him.

When he was just quiet, she proceeded, "Here you go," she went over to him and handed him a long letter envelope that was securely sealed. "Give this to Reeve. Careful not to drop it. It might explode." She told him.

"What is this, ma'am?" he asked.

"Stop asking questions and just give it to him! And don't you ever tell him that it came from me, alright?" she told him.

"But…" he began, but she cut him off, "No buts. Just go." And with that, Rude went off to Reeve's office, feeling so nervous. He sniffed the envelope and cringed at the scent of Scarlet's perfume… but there was something else mixed with it… something stinky. "Must be some kind of stink bomb inside…" he thought silently.

Upon arriving in Reeve's office, the Urban Development Head was just sealing a white envelope. He looked up from his current activity and smiled kindly at Rude, "Oh, hello, Rude. Have a seat." He told him.

Rude nervously approached the chair by his desk and sat down stiffly. "You called for me, Sir?" he asked.

"Yes. I would like you to give this to Scarlet, if you don't mind." Reeve told him as he handed the envelope to him before turning back to his PC. "You see, I could just give it to her myself, but I just received an email from President Rufus telling me that I should finish this year's financial report on the new housing project he's starting in Sector 7." He continued.

Rude took the envelope, but before he can hand over the perfumed envelope (whose smell was beginning to fade off so fast), the fire alarm began to sound, surprising the two of them.

"Oh no… oh no… fire alarm…" Reeve instantly got up from his seat and grabbed Rude's hand. "C'mon, let's go!" he said, leading the way to the door. In the process, Rude accidentally dropped the two envelopes on the floor.

When they reached the evacuation area outside the ShinRa building, they realized that it was only a fire drill.

After around almost an hour of waiting and inspection, they were allowed to go back inside again.

Rude was rushing upstairs, worried about the letters that he was the first one to get into Reeve's office instead of Reeve himself. Rude got the two envelopes from the floor and examined each of them. Both are blank, of the same size and color…

"Wait! The smell!" and sniffed the two.

They already smell the same.

"OH NO!" he wailed.

"Why? What's the matter?" Reeve asked as he finally arrived inside his own office.

Rude swallowed hard. "N…nothing… oh… Miss Scarlet wants me to give this to you," and handed a random envelope to him.

Reeve frowned upon taking the envelope. "Er… thanks." And just placed the envelope on top of his desk before proceeding back to his PC and sat down in front of it and started typing again.

Rude was still worried. "Uhm… may I ask what's in this letter, sir?" he asked.

"Just a letter of apology to her." Reeve told him with a slight smile on his face as he continued to type.

With that, Rude excused himself and quickly got out of the room. "I hope this goes well… and I hope I did give the right envelope to Reeve!" he was thinking nervously as he headed for the elevator.

* * *

Aerith was nursing Cloud's black eye while the poor guy was still in agony.

"Baaah… it hurts! Baaah…" Cloud was whining.

"Stop whining like a crybaby sheep, Cloud!" Yuffie scolded.

"Shh! Yuffie! Leave him alone!" Aerith snapped, looking a little offended.

Cloud sniffed. "Baaaah…"

Aerith got up. "I'll just go downstairs to the drugstore to buy some ointment." She told them before rushing out. Cloud stopped.

"Aha! Just as I've suspected, you're faking your tears!" Elena pointed out accusingly at him.

Cloud just smiled at them, "Hey, I missed her tender loving care, okay? Just give me a chance." And the door burst open, and Cloud burst into tears again. "Baaaaah….."

Sephiroth frowned. "What's up with him?" he asked.

Cloud stopped crying. "Oh… I thought you were Aerith." He said, leaning back against the headboard of Aerith's bed.

Sephiroth shut the door. "You can go back to our room. Tifa has forced Rufus to return to their own bedroom." He told him.

"I think I'm staying here." Cloud told him.

"You can't pretend to be _that_ injured forever." Yuffie pointed out.

"I think Aerith knows that you're just faking being too injured than what is expected." Elena told him.

"Rufus isn't as strong as you think he is." Sephiroth told him.

"And how would you explain the black eye, the bruises and the bumps on my head!?" Cloud argued rather frustratingly, his head still feeling a little numb because of too much pain.

"Be thankful he didn't go trigger-happy and ended up shooting holes through your bod! Heehee!" Elena teased before giggling hysterically with Yuffie… and they only stopped when Sephiroth started giggling too.

Cloud stared unbelievably at him because it's not everyday he hears Sephiroth giggle like a girl.

Sephiroth stopped and eyed him warningly, "I was mocking the girls. I'm not what you think I am." He muttered. Cloud just looked away with a disturbed look on his face.

"What really happened back there anyway? Why did Rufus just decided to take on Cloud?" Yuffie asked him. "I think Cloud was trying to make him jealous to see if he really cared for Tifa." He pointed out. Cloud just grunted and made a face, "And I didn't expect him to be _that_ jealous and he ended up beating the crap out of me. Now my hands are so numb and I'm full of bruises, how the hell am I supposed to hold a guitar for the next concert?" he asked in annoyance.

"Well you shouldn't have provoked him that way, Cloud." Elena told him.

"How was I supposed to know that he's like a deranged panther whenever he's angry?" Cloud argued with an annoyed look on his face.

"Well… you should see his _limit break_. It can really destroy the Planet worst than Sephiroth summoning Meteor…" Elena said with a silly grin on her face before laughing.

"What limit break?" Cloud asked in sudden curiosity. The first time he fought with Rufus on the balcony of the 70th floor, the guy just seemed so _helpless_ without a gun… and when Rufus just beat the crap out of him moments ago, he was beginning to have second thoughts, like maybe Rufus is better in fighting when using his fists and then kicking just like Tifa… and when Elena mentioned about the limit break, he suddenly felt his heart sink.

"His temper tantrums." Elena pointed out.

They all fell silent.

"Har har. Very funny!" Sephiroth said sarcastically.

"Yeah, right…" Cloud told her with an I-don't-believe-you look on his face.

"No, it's true!" Elena protested.

"Anyway, you mentioned about a concert—?" Yuffie asked, wanting to change the subject. Sephiroth sat down on the bed, "Just a gig, actually. At the lobby lounge tomorrow evening. The hotel manager and owner talked to me and Vincent… I mean, _dad_; and asked if we could perform tomorrow." He explained, which made her frown, "Hmf! How come they didn't ask us?!" she demanded.

"It just proves that we're better than you! Mwahahahaha!" Sephiroth teased.

Annoyed, Yuffie instantly made a move to throw shurikens at him, but he dodged before she could hit him with a single one. "GAWDS!!!" she shrieked in annoyance at his face. He just laughed at her.

They were interrupted when Aerith finally returned with a brown paper bag full of first aid stuff. Cloud started wailing again, "Baaaah! It hurts! Baaaaaaah….."

Aerith felt her heart sinking in pity and so much compassion when she saw Cloud crying in agony that way, "Oh Cloud!" and instantly ran to him. Sephiroth, Yuffie and Elena rolled their eyes in mixed disbelief and disgust. "I think we'd better leave them alone for a while…" Yuffie told them.

"Yeah. This could get gross." Sephiroth said before he got up. "Well, I'm going back to our room. If ever you plan on coming back there, call first. I'm locking the doors." He told Cloud.

Cloud stopped crying and stared curiously at him, "Why? Are you up to something nasty with Reno and Vincent?" he accused.

Sephiroth just flashed him a dirty finger with a look that said, "Har har, very funny!" and walked out of the room, while Yuffie and Elena just proceeded to the balcony to get some fresh air.

* * *

Rufus had been glancing at Tifa every now and then ever since he realized where she was seated: on the railing of the balcony. She was gazing up at the stars with a pleased smile on her face and she even looked too relaxed in her current position, even though Rufus was already too worried for her because of the fact that she could easily fall off and land on hard ground… and to think that the hotel where they're staying is 25-storeys high… and they're on the 25th floor in a Presidential Suite.

While staring up at the stars, she was also humming Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony and grooving to the tune; her legs swaying and her head bobbing.

The more she moved, the more he got worried. He didn't know that she was doing it on purpose to see if he's got concern on her or not.

Further disturbed by the situation, he instantly got up from the bed, away from his laptop and rushed to the balcony. "Tifa, get down from there!" he said rather harshly, as if she's a kid disobeying rules.

She jerked up in surprise and she almost lost her balance, but she just held onto the railing with her two hands as she slowly and carefully turned back to him with a silly smile on her face, "Oops! Careful, Rufus! You gave me a fright!" she told him rather playfully. She enjoyed seeing the worried and disturbed look on his face… and in his blue eyes. She giggled and jumped off from the railing, jumping onto him and embracing him tightly while laughing gaily. "Heeheeheehee!"

He held on to her, careful not to lose his balance as he leaned against the railing. "Hey… slow down! We might fall off the railing!" he told her.

"And die?" she asked.

The word made his heart feel like it has been injected by some acid that can melt his blood vessels. Her smile faded away as she gazed into his blue eyes. "If we fall together…" she began, but couldn't continue.

He just smiled slyly at her, "I'll make sure you hold onto me until we land and break our bones and create a bloody mess down there." He said.

Hearing this, she smiled again and gave him a kiss. "I'm sorry." She said. He raised an eyebrow at her, "For what?" he asked.

"Well for…" she began. He just hushed her as he let her go. "I'm the one who's supposed to be saying that." He said.

She frowned. "So you admit that you really used me to…" she began, but he gave her a warning look. She laughed at him, "Yes, yes… I believe you… I'm just joking." She said gleefully before walking back inside their room again and went straight to the study desk. He followed after her with a curious look on his face. "I'm just wondering what you're writing," he told her.

"I promised you a song, remember?" she asked.

He blushed slightly. He's not really used to having other people express affection for him aside from his own mother who has been long gone. But that was motherly affection… and the affection that's coming from Tifa is a mixture of motherly, loving, mutual, friendly and… he stopped his thought, feeling that his face is turning bright red already at the thought of the last one.

He just cleared his throat and sat down on the desk. "A duet…" he said, remembering, not wanting to reveal his secret thoughts about her.

She just kept quiet and proceeded to write.

"If we perform that…" he began.

"Hmm?" she just continued to write.

"If we perform that, which of our bands will play?" he asked. She stopped writing for a while and shrugged. "Whoever." She said mindlessly.

He just smiled slightly before looking away. She continued to write for some more, and then stopped. She handed the paper to Rufus and smiled sweetly at him. "See if it's alright." She said.

He took the paper and read it… then bit his lower lip before getting the pen and started to write on it too. Tifa wondered what he did, so she got up and went to his side, looking over his shoulder and reading his corrections and additions. "You know I'm not a sappy person…" he muttered to her with a serious look on his face, but his voice seemed to tremble, revealing to Tifa that he felt a bit nervous about what she had written. She giggled. "Oh… yeah…" she said sheepishly.

And he began to sing:

_I hear the sound of rain outside this room_

_But they are just your tears._

_You are just like the rain outside,_

_But seeping through the broken window of my soul._

_I touch the moist on the tainted glass and see your tears;_

_They are crimson from your eyes so lonely._

_I long to hold your hand and take you with me_

_Up on this pedestal where I now stand…_

_If only you could hear me._

_If this is the hard cost of loving,_

_If all the smiles around this world are all but fake_

_And when I fall apart there you are to pick me up_

_Even if my little shards make your hand bleed,_

_You still continue to love me…_

_This ain't a love song,_

_This is your song._

_A song I wrote for the sake of hatred_

_Hatred for the world and love for your painful eyes._

_If only you could hear me…_

Tifa smiled at him and sang her lines:

_I see you bleeding through the broken glass_

_And you are oh so near.._

_I am just like the rain outside,_

_But seeping through the locked heart of your soul._

_You touch my lips by the tainted glass and see my tears;_

_They are crimson, but you still catch them._

_I long to hold your hand and take you with me_

_Down from that pedestal where you now stand…_

_If only you could hear me._

_If this is the hard cost of loving,_

_If all the love around this world are all but lust_

_And when I fall apart there you are to kiss my fears_

_Even when they say that we're not meant to be,_

_You still continue to love me…_

And they both sang:

_This ain't a love song, (It's my love song)_

_This is your song. (It's our love song)_

_A song I wrote for the sake of hatred (It's them I hate)_

_Hatred for the world and love for your painful eyes. (Because they try to take you away from me…)_

_If only you could hear me…(But I hear you…)_

_(The world just makes you deaf)_

She smiled at him as she continued and he paused:

_Take me by the hand and take me somewhere_

_A place where you and I could live in our own castle_

_And we'll fill it with stars that I've tried to catch for you_

_Away from the world. Away from it all._

He joined:

_Just you and me singing our love song…_

_So this is a love song (It's our love song)_

_This is our song_

_A song we wrote for the sake of crying_

_Crying for each other when the world is painful_

_To the two of us who belong to separate worlds_

_And now I can hear you (I can hear you…)_

_And now I can take you… (you can take me…)_

_Away…_

She paused… he continued to end the song:

_I hear the sound of rain outside this room_

They were quiet for a few moments just looking at each other with stares of awe in their faces and eyes.

"Perfect." He told her.

How he loved perfection… and he found the best perfection of all in her.

She smiled at him and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"What are you so happy about? It's sappy!" he remarked with a sarcastic smile on his face. She just pounded a fist on his back, meant to be a gentle hit, but he still choked out an "Ow… bloody hell…" She laughed slightly at his reaction. "That's just a light punch!" she pointed out.

"I know… but it still hurt!" he told her.

She blinked in awe. "Oh?" she asked. "You're the first one who ever said that to me," she told me.

"Maybe the others have noticed too… but they don't want to tell me because they're afraid you might do it again but on the second time, they're dead!" he joked but still maintaining his poker-faced expression.

She just made a face at him, "Are you staying that I'm like an Amazon?!" she demanded as she got up.

"Well… you're the one who put it that way…" he pointed out as he got up and as he approached her, clutching her arms firmly but gently, surprising her. She lost her words when she saw the look in his eyes… it made her blush and feel a little nervous, especially as he spoke to her in a low tone that seemed soothing and at the same time, loving but stern, "…but I hope you don't get too rough with me tonight because I have no intention of doing that to you…" he gently caressed her cheek and she felt her hairs rising. "…because I'd like to take it nice and slow…" he continued before he leaned his face down to hers and then kissed her lips. She was hesitant to return his kisses at first, but then she finally obliged… and he embraced her, crushing her to himself…

And his mobile phone began to ring. He jerked slightly in annoyance at the sound of it, but still proceeded to kiss her, wanting to ignore the caller, whoever the hell it was.

But the call seemed persistent, so as he pushed her down on the bed with him and but was still kissing her quite hungrily, his right hand left her and traveled to his pocket and got his phone, taking a quick glance at the caller I.D. and frowned. He just threw it aside… away from him… where he couldn't even reach it...

But it still rang.

Tifa couldn't help but giggle when she recognized that his ringing tone is to the sound of one of her songs. "Aren't you gonna get that?" she asked.

"No." he replied simply before he embraced her again, surprising her.

"What… if it's… important…HEY!" she snapped, pushing his face away from hers. He felt stunned. She smiled weakly. "You're too heavy." She pointed out.

Silence.

"No. I'm the President. I should be in control." He joked, but he still had this poker-faced expression and kissed her again. She just tightened her arms around him, but she was beginning to get ticked off by the ringing. "Ru…fus… I think… you should… get that…" she struggled to say.

The ringing stopped.

They felt relieved.

They proceeded with their "activity"… and just as when Rufus was about to reach for the light switch on the bedside table to switch it off, they heard someone barge in, surprising them both. Rufus jumped off from Tifa and he landed on the floor. She grabbed the blanket and covered herself with it while panting hard, staring in disbelief at Cloud who was holding his own mobile phone and staring at them in awe.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Tifa and Rufus both demanded in unison.

Cloud was surprised the two of them. "Eh…" he tried to suppress his laughter. "Well… uhm… am I interrupting?" he asked.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Tifa asked with a shaky tone, turning to Rufus, feeling her blood rush to her head. He got up from the floor and zipped up his pants. "Well what is the problem, Strife?" he asked coolly, trying to act casual despite the fact that Cloud could clearly see that his formerly-brushed back hair is already ruffled and a lot of locks were falling onto his face… and his ears are red. Cloud just smiled at him and handed his mobile phone to him. "It's for you. She says she's been trying to call your mobile phone but you're not answering." He told him with a teasing look on his face.

Rufus just snatched the phone from his grasp and put it against his right ear, "Yes? Who's this?" he demanded sternly.

"Kyah… President Rufus?"

"Scarlet?" Rufus asked in disbelief.

"Yes sir… Kyahaha…" she sounded nervous.

He frowned. "What?" he asked impatiently, turning away from Cloud and Tifa and proceeding to the window as Scarlet spoke up nervously, "Well… I'm… worried about Tifa and the rest… are they there with you?" she asked.

"What do you think?" he asked blankly.

Scarlet was quiet for a while before saying, "When do you plan to come back here?" she asked.

"When we feel like it." Rufus stated flatly.

"But sir… what about your album sales and your… fame in the music and entertainment industry?" she asked.

He looked up at the night sky outside the window, "I find it awkward hearing those from you… knowing the fact that you're not even our manager… and you're from our _enemies'_ side." He said with a shrug.

"Well… I'm speaking in behalf of Reeve too." she said.

* * *

Scarlet just sat still on her bed as she continued, "President Rufus, you and the rest have fans. They're all wondering where you've gone to… and then the paparazzi just reveals that you're in Costa del Sol with the others! What about your fame and your fortune and…" she trailed off when she heard him say, "Scarlet, Scarlet, Scarlet… you poor woman, you. Why don't you sleep now? Relax tomorrow and take a vacation… tell the same to Reeve."

* * *

Rufus proceeded as he turned around to face Tifa and Cloud who were watching him in curiosity. "…for us, money and fame in this field that we've plunged into isn't everything there is to life. I can get tired easily… and believe me, I've been long tired of the game ever since I was a little boy. There will be a time when I'm no longer President… where my future son, whoever he may be, will take over… and I'll be just a distant memory. But at least I get to do something worthwhile for now. But it gets tiring. Nothing lasts forever, even this fame… but thanks to you and Reeve for letting me and the rest experience such fame… especially on behalf of Sephiroth, because he learned to find himself more… and also in behalf of Cloud, because if it wasn't for the bands that you formed with us and the girls, he'd never find Aerith again."

Tifa smiled at what he said.

Rufus was looking at her with a cold look on his face, but his eyes seemed to reveal every loving emotion in his heart, "…and also in my behalf… because I've found my happiness… in your keyboardist." He said softly.

Scarlet wanted to cry as she heard this. She sensed the great change in Rufus…

She lost her words when he mentioned, "Tomorrow evening is our last performance. We're in Costa del Sol. Be here tomorrow night with Reeve." And he hung up.

Rufus handed back the mobile phone to Cloud. "Now, scoot." He said with a pun.

Cloud just smiled slightly at him. "So tomorrow night's settled…" he said.

Tifa just bowed her head thoughtfully with a slight smile on her face.

Rufus just patted Cloud's shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Get some rest." He said. Cloud slightly punched Rufus's shoulder. "You too, buddy." And went to the door. He turned back to him and smiled teasingly, "Don't worry, this time, I won't barge in with a camera." He told them.

"Aw, get out of here, you bloody spiky-headed jerk!" Rufus snapped, waving an angry fist at him. Cloud laughed and then turned to Tifa, flashing a thumbs-up. She just nodded and mouthed a thank you.

He knew what it meant and he smiled calmly as he closed the door. He recalled his little conversation with Tifa while Rufus was talking to Scarlet by the window. "Thank you, Cloud." She told him.

"For what?" he asked her.

"For leading me to Rufus. I've never been this happy. You're really quite the best friend I've ever had." She told him. He just smiled at her. "You're welcome. And thank you for helping in leading Aerith back to me." Was all he said.

With that, Cloud went back to his suite that he is sharing with Vincent, Sephiroth and Reno. He went straight to his own room within the suite, sat down on his bed and grabbed an acoustic guitar that belongs to Vincent. And he started to strum and sing:

_I wonder how you feel…_

_I should've sunk with you in the lake._

_To end this pain and misery…_

_But you're here with me tonight,_

_And you're not far away anymore._

_Love itself gave you back to me._

_And I'm happy coz you're there,_

_So to you, I dedicate…_

_This love song._

_This love song's for you._

_It may sound so dull and uncaring,_

_But if you look into my eyes, there you'll see_

_That you're the only one for me._

_And that I mean every word of this love song…_

He was interrupted and the string of the guitar almost snapped when Sephiroth yelled, "PIPE DOWN!!!"

Silence.

Cloud just sulked. "Yeah… sure…" he muttered before putting down the guitar and just sang the song all over again in a capella.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!! (yet again)

Author's Note: What is the matter with ?! The indentions are all screwed up and I still have to click on QuickEdit to fix it... but IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!!!! O' feels frustrated ...Again, if you have suggestions, feel free to put them in your reviews or simply email them to me, 'ayt, ya foo's!? Uurgh...


	19. To Quit or Not to Quit

Us Against the Music

By General Quistis

**Nineteen: To Quit or Not to Quit**

Scarlet went over to her study desk inside her bedroom. Even though it was already late at night, she was still awake. She could not sleep even if she tried to because she was still thinking about what Rufus had told her… about their last gig on the next night. She couldn't help but think that if it would be the last gig of the boys, it could also be the same for the girls. Restlessly, she just rummaged through her stuff before switching off her laptop that has been running ever since she came into her room. She sighed heavily before turning to the envelope resting just beside her pen holder. Frowning, she took it and opened it, revealing to her a letter…

Xoxo00Xooo00

Reeve had just finished taking a bath and he was getting ready for bed when he remembered that Rude had given him a letter from Scarlet. He had taken it with him to his room so that maybe he could read it before bedtime… after all, he was feeling calm about the situation with her already. He doesn't feel so hot-tempered when it comes to her compared to what happened days before.

He reached for the letter that was just placed on top of his bedside table…

xXoO00x0oo0O0

Scarlet impatiently unfolded the letter and began to read it carefully:

_Dear Scarlet,_

_This might be a wrong time for me to be writing such a letter, but we have obviously been in each other's necks ever since we started managing bands whose members we have grown attached with through the many months we've been with them. I don't know what your real agenda is for managing the girls' band, but to be honest with you, Heidegger and the others knew about you hating Tifa, so we thought that you're just using the band to get even with her. I was the one who defended you against those harsh thoughts about you. I told them that a person could change, and maybe you did change when you decided to manage the girls, considering the fact that three from them are from AVALANCHE…And maybe you did change when you became their manager, because I saw your potential… maybe as a mother to the four girls. You took care of them well and gave them all the necessary publicity and hated it whenever something controversial happens around each of them…  
I guess I feel the same way with my boys because they had been like sons to me, the way those girls had been like daughters to you. So imagine my panic when I let the rumor get into my nerves: that you are using your band to get even with me!_

_I know how much you and the others have hated me… and I guess you still do at this point in time while you're reading this. I may be a goody-goody Urban Development Dork (that's how you refer to me and call me, right?)._

_But I don't mind you calling me that… because it still sounds good when it comes from you._

_What's my point? Well, I think it's high time we settle things. I don't like to fight with you because… it seems so damn wrong._

_I'm sorry for my misgivings. I don't know if you'll forgive me, but just to let you know, I have long forgiven you for all the wrongs that you have done to me—yes, those insults and more…_

_I'd like the two of us to become closer… like the best of friends. Don't you think it'd be wonderful?_

_Love, _

_Reeve._

"Kyah…" she stated flatly, feeling her cheeks getting warmer. She bit her lower lip to fight the urge to smile. "Damn! Is this a love letter or a letter of apology?!" she was thinking quite excitedly. She felt tingly all over as she fought the urge to giggle and reread the letter one more time… and then twice… then thrice… and more…

x0o0xx0X0ooo00

Reeve realized that the adhesive was too strong, so he decided to just use a letter opener. He rummaged inside the drawer of his bedside table to search for a letter opener, and when he found one, he instantly got it, shut the drawer and then proceeded to open the envelope…

And BOOM!

He cringed at the putrid smell… and the feel of green goo all over him and on the objects near him…

Stink bomb.

He could feel his temper rising again… and he couldn't control it anymore.

"SCARLET!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed in rage.

_Xo00xx00x0_

"What's wrong with you?" Heidegger asked in confusion when he saw Scarlet prancing down the hallway going to the elevator looking so ecstatic. "Kyah… I think I'm in-love!!!" she stated in elation, puzzling him further. "Gyahahah! It isn't even Valentine's Day!" he told her.

"Kyahaha…I know that," she said with a dreamy look on her face… and she gasped when she saw the elevator door open and there was Reeve looking so gross… and he also reeked due to the stink bomb. Heidegger instantly covered his nose in disgust. "GYAH!!! What the hell did you do?! Did you forget to change to Cait Sith's kitty litter and spilled it on yourself?!" he mocked in annoyance.

Reeve was clenching his fists and his teeth as he glared angrily at Scarlet, making her heart sink in sudden fear. "Shit! I forgot about the damn stink bomb in the envelope!" she thought to herself as her eyes further widened upon realizing her _big_ mistake. She suddenly wanted to cry because of guilt and confusion.

Reeve snarled at her, "You… you… you biatch!!!" he impatiently yelled.

Silence.

"Biatch?" she asked softly.

"He meant _bitch_." Heidegger pointed out frankly. "KYAH! I knew that, Heidegger…" she snapped at him before turning back to Reeve. "I'm… look, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean it, I…" she said with a pleading look on her face.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T MEAN IT?!!! It's so effing obvious that you effing meant what you just effing did!!!" he yelled angrily at her.

She burst into tears. "Oh Reeve!!! I'm so sorry!!!" she screeched, surprising Heidegger.

Lucrecia arrived with a sleepy look on her face, "What is going on in here? Don't you know what time it is?" she asked in annoyance. She had just awoken because of the noise in the hallway. She stopped in her tracks when she sniffed the reeking Reeve. "Oh goodness… what happened to you?" she asked as she covered her nose and eyed Reeve from head to toe. Reeve pointed an accusing finger at Scarlet. "You see this lady in red over here? She did THIS!!!" he yelled… and then took a step forward to Scarlet, making her step backward in fear that the stench might go to her. "And she must be punished…" he said. "I'm tired of being such an Urban Development Dork in your eyes, Scarlet. It's high time for me to _fight back_!" he sneered.

"Kyah… I'm so scared…" Scarlet said nervously.

Reeve opened up his arms in an embrace, "Come, Scarlet, why don't you give me a hug?" he asked with a sarcastic tone. She felt her hairs rising upon hearing that. "Oh… no…" she shook her head in disgust.

"Oh yes!" Reeve snapped at her.

"OH NO!!!"

"OH YES!!!" and he went further near her. She screeched a high-pitched ear-piercing "KYAAAAH!!!!!" and ran off, but Reeve followed her, still attempting to embrace her.

"Gyah… that is so gross…" Heidegger muttered.

Lucrecia shook her head in disbelief before leaving, proceeding back to her own room.

XooXox00x0xXXooXox00x0xXXooXox00x0xX

The boys and the girls were having lunch altogether the next day in a cheap seaside restaurant in Costa del Sol. Their food consisted of mainly grilled and fried seafood, pork and chicken.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying the meal except for Rufus ShinRa, who wasn't at all used to eating in such an environment. "I thought we'd be having lunch at the restaurant by the hotel?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Oh the one selling small bottled waters for 100 Gil each? Nah. It's too expensive for us." Tifa pointed out with a sweet smile on her face.

"But we can afford it!" Rufus pointed out. They just ignored him. He rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll pay for everything there." He told them.

"This is much better and cheaper. C'mon, indulge in the simple pleasures of life like cheap food! Here, try this out." Tifa said, handing him something that looked like a twisted tube-like meat in a barbecue stick after dipping it in vinegar with garlic, onion and red pepper. He just stared disgustedly at it. "Wh…what's that?" he asked.

"It's chicken." She replied simply.

"Chicken?" he asked.

Sephiroth got his own share and ate it. "It's actually good." He told him.

"Yeah. We used to eat this in SOLDIER days whenever it's breaktime and sometimes, whenever I go to the Wall Market." Cloud pointed out. Vincent nodded, "Oh yes! I remember. During my old Turk days I used to go to the same place to eat that." He said, feeling delighted as he got his own stick.

Rufus swallowed hard before taking the _twisted chicken on a stick_ from Tifa and took a bite. He let his tastebuds decide and he shrugged, ignoring the way Yuffie was staring disgustedly at him and the way Aerith was gaping at him. "It's actually good." He told them before finishing it.

Tifa exchanged looks with Reno, Cloud, Sephiroth and Vincent.

Yuffie reacted when Rufus finished the whole thing. "EW! How could you eat _chicken intestines_!?" she demanded in shock.

Silence.

"Aw, you spoiled it!" Tifa wailed.

Rufus's eyes widened and he suddenly turned pale. He got his glass of water and gulped down the contents. Sephiroth was laughing at him, "Mwahahahahaha!!! You should've made him taste the fried locusts and the fried crickets too! Mwahahahahaha!" he told Tifa.

"Oh GROSSNESS!" Yuffie wailed.

Rufus just kept quiet, trying to reflect on what had just happened to him and what he had done to himself. And it was because he trusted Tifa. "You tricked me…" he told her in annoyance.

"So what? It did you good. Tell me it's delicious." She told him with a playful smile on her face.

He just stared back at her with a blank look on his face. "It's not. It's disgusting." He pointed out.

"It's delicious. Tell me it's delicious… that it's yummy… and it's the most exquisite-tasting exotic dish you've ever tasted. C'mon, Rufus. You know you want to…" she was teasing him. Sephiroth was watching Rufus's facial expression twitching as if he's trying to stop himself from smiling. Rufus just turned away and told her with a poker-faced expression. "Alright, it's good."

Tifa pouted.

Aerith giggled. "Rufus, it's _clean_." She pointed out.

"But those are intestines! What kind of person eats bloody intestines?!" Rufus demanded in shock.

"Okay, change topic, change topic. The Prez might throw a temper tantrum again…" Reno pointed out while raising his right hand and banging his left on the table. He looked somewhat sarcastic which made Rufus snort.

"Anyway, tonight is our last gig. We'd better make it good." Rufus told them as he flipped his hair and got Tifa's glass of water. "May I?" he asked and gulped down the contents. She just sat still. "Uh… sure… but…" she blinked. "Tonight's your last gig?" she asked.

"What?! Tonight?!" Yuffie demanded in shock.

"Yes." Vincent answered simply.

"But… why?" Aerith asked curiously.

"I'm tired of this. I can't continue managing my business and then performing. Besides, I can reel in some cash even without the band." Rufus told them as he flipped his hair.

"Oh come on!" Yuffie snapped in annoyance, "I'm sure you can't do that?!" she demanded.

"And why not?" Rufus asked her with an airy look on his face.

"Because it wouldn't be fair for us!" Cloud told him.

Everyone fell silent.

"Well then fine. It's going to be my last gig tonight, but you guys can still perform without me," Rufus told him.

"It won't be the same without you…" Sephiroth said softly. They just kept quiet, looking down unbelievably at Rufus.

"No, you're not leaving the band just because of ShinRa." Cloud told him sternly.

All eyes turned to Cloud. He looked serious.

"Alright, I'll make a deal with you. If anybody else decides to leave the band, then we're finished." Sephiroth told them.

"Okay, who's leaving?" Rufus asked.

His bandmates were just quiet.

Tifa got up from her seat and motioned for her bandmates to do the same, "C'mon, girls. The boys need to talk for a while." She told them.

Aerith slowly got up and led the way to the shore. Tifa followed after her with Yuffie and Elena, leaving the boys just seated and staring at one another in total silence.

"Don't tell me you're leaving the band because of Tifa?" Cloud sneered at Rufus.

"Are you getting married?" Sephiroth asked.

"I didn't mention anything about Tifa. I just said that I cannot balance business and leisure for too long." Rufus pointed out.

"Well it's about time you learn, right?" Cloud asked.

"Rufus, you've done this before and you're doing great! Why quit now?" Vincent asked.

"Because I have to do this for ShinRa!" Rufus pointed out.

"Come on, Rufus. Be realistic. You're not the only one with a different career here. I'm also working as one of your Turks, then Cloud and Sephiroth are with SOLDIER, then Vincent's also one of your Turks! We're all performing because we love music and we love the attention we are getting from the people!" Reno pointed out.

"Who else is leaving?" Rufus demanded, going back to his question.

Nobody responded.

"Well it wouldn't be fair if I leave just because I want to get married to Aerith…" Cloud said softly with a solemn look on his face.

"Same here, if I want to get hitched with Lucrecia." Vincent told them. "Yeah, me too… with Elena. Heh heh," Reno laughed rather uncomfortably at the situation. Sephiroth just shrugged. "Well… I have no problems." He said with a silly smile on his face.

"Wait… in this kind of situation, would it mean that if we all quit to settle down with our own private lives, does this mean that Prettier Than Pink would be no more too?" Reno asked.

Silence.

"Duh." Cloud responded with a sarcastic look on his face.

Rufus just flipped his hair and smiled slyly at them, "Admit it, fellows, you all want to do the same as I do… you all want to quit." He told them.

Silence.

"I don't." Sephiroth sneered.

Reno, Vincent and Cloud exchanged looks. "Well… we… yeah… I guess so…" the latter began with an uncomfortable look on his face, avoiding the mortified look on Sephiroth's face.

"WHAT?! What am I going to do? Start a solo career?! You gotta be kidding me!" Sephiroth snapped at them.

"We'll still be friends and I can support you if you need the moolah." Rufus told him slyly.

Sephiroth just pounded his fist angrily on the table. "NO! No one's quitting because I said so!" he snarled.

Silence.

He couldn't take the way his friends were staring at him… so he just shrugged and crossed his arms. "Fine. Here's the deal. One of you can leave, but then the others will stay with me, and I'll look for a new member!" he told them.

"Alright." Cloud said, ready to volunteer himself out while thinking silently, "YEAAAAAH!!! Finally I can propose to Aerith about getting married and living in Kalm away from everybody else and then having two children… ooooh boy, oh boy, oh boy… I hope I can have a son and I'll name him _Sora_! Yeah, that's a good name… heh heh heh…" but his thoughts were interrupted when Sephiroth declared, "The first one among the four of you to stand up will be the one to leave!"

Cloud instantly got up without thinking, leaving Rufus, Vincent and Reno stunned. The three were just preparing to stand up (it took a while before everything registered in their minds) when Cloud was already up.

Cloud smiled at them. "So, I'm out?" he asked.

Sephiroth just shook his head in dismay. "Get out of here, Strife!" he said.

Cloud cheered a loud, "WHOOOHOOO!!!!!", surprising the girls who were seated by the shore and playing with sandcastles. With that, Cloud rushed away from them and went over to the girls, specifically to Aerith.

Sephiroth and the rest stared unbelievably at him.

"That is so unfair!" Rufus wailed in annoyance.

"Mwahahahahahaha!!! Live with it!" Sephiroth told him before getting another chicken-intestines-on-a-stick and started eating it happily.

Vincent sulked. Reno snorted.

"So, who will replace the spiky-headed jerk?" Rufus asked miserably as he mindlessly got the same food and began nibbling on it desperately.

Sephiroth smiled at him. "You remember _the other guy_ who came back with us?"

Silence.

Rufus clenched his jaw. "_Him_?!" he mouthed.

"Who?" Reno asked curiously.

"Mwahahahahahaha!" Sephiroth laughed victoriously.

Rufus swallowed his food. "Where is he anyway?" he demanded.

"I had to keep him away from Aerith and he said he needed some time to think about his life, so he just moved out on his own while we were recovering. I don't think Aerith knows that he's also here." Sephiroth told him.

"Who are you talking about?" Vincent asked curiously.

Sephiroth just got his mobile phone from his pocket, "You'll know, _daddy_." He told him before dialing a few numbers…

OOoOXox0ooxOx

"Cloud, are you sure about this decision?" Aerith asked curiously as she watched the bellboy carry his luggage out of the room. "I am. After the gig, we're out of here. I'll just have my luggage in the car until it's time to go." Cloud told her with an excited look on his face. But she appeared to be contemplative about everything. "Well… I still haven't decided whether I should leave the girls. I mean, I owe so much to them, especially to Tifa…" she trailed off and then laughed. "Heehee! Oh well… whatever! We're still friends no matter what happens anyway!" she said happily before hugging Cloud. He laughed with her. "So does this mean you're quitting the group too?" he asked.

"I'll go wherever you will go, Cloud." She told him.

Cloud was fighting the urge to smile too much to hide his extreme happiness, because he still feels a bit awkward about it… he didn't want to appear too cheesy in front of Aerith. "Really?" he asked.

She nodded. "Of course! I couldn't just stay in Prettier Than Pink and still performing even when, say, I'm pregnant in the future!" she told him while laughing gaily. Cloud tried to imagine Aerith playing the guitar and pregnant. He shrugged off the idea. It seemed so… wrong.

"Besides, I've already talked to the girls about it. They're all willing to quit too and find more things worthwhile to do. After all, we just formed Prettier Than Pink so that we could amuse ourselves and it was also a way to find you again." she told him.

Cloud was stunned. "…So that was the main purpose of it?" he asked curiously.

"Well… in my case, yes. With the help of Tifa, that is. Heehee!" she giggled.

"So you two lovebirds are enjoying your time together, huh?" Rufus asked mockingly as he passed by the hallway to go to his own room. Cloud just frowned at him, "Haha! Yeah, we are. What about you?" he asked mockingly.

"We'll start rehearsing downstairs in an hour so you'd better go down immediately. I'll just change into something more decent because I don't wanna be seen wearing these hula shorts anymore!" Rufus told him before he entered his own room and slammed the door shut.

Cloud and Aerith were quiet for a while before the former spoke up, "He seems to be annoyed at me…"

"How come?" she asked.

"Because he also wants to leave and make some room for his own private life, I guess. But he also seems cool about letting me leave…" he replied, but he was interrupted when Tifa came prancing about the area, going to the room where Rufus entered. "You look happy," Cloud told her.

"Ruffy and the others told me about your quitting. Congratulations, Cloud! Heehee! You too, Aerith." Tifa said, stopping before them to shake their hands happily.

"You're happy because I'm quitting?" he demanded in annoyance.

"No. I'm happy because I'm performing on-stage with Rufus tonight… and at the same time, your replacement will be introduced to play your part." She explained.

Cloud and Aerith were stunned. "My replacement?" the former demanded in shock. "That was quick!" the former blurted out in disbelief.

"I can't believe it myself, but Sephiroth already made a phonecall to that person… whoever he is." Tifa explained with a clueless look on her face.

"You mean you don't know who it is?" Aerith asked.

Tifa shook her head in dismay. "Unfortunately, Sephiroth and Rufus are the only ones who know who he is." She explained.

Cloud was already beginning to feel disturbed with the issue that his friends had already found a replacement when he leaves. He felt… unappreciated. Sephiroth and Vincent finally arrived and they were headed for their room. "Oh, hi, Cloud," Sephiroth greeted with a sneer.

Cloud rushed to him, "What did you just do?" he demanded.

"What?" Sephiroth asked.

"I'm not yet gone and you've already found a replacement?!" Cloud asked in disbelief.

"Mwahahahahahaha! Well he agreed to work with us. Besides, he needs the money for his family." Sephiroth told him.

Cloud was stunned.

"Sephiroth, who is this person anyway?" Vincent asked curiously.

"You'll know tonight! He's coming over here. Rufus already sent out a chopper to fetch him… with Elena and Yuffie." Sephiroth told them.

"Why Elena?" Tifa asked in surprise. "Because she's still a Turk. Duh. Reno's going to practice with us so the remaining Turk who's not doing anything as of now would be Elena. Yuffie? Well, she's the best friend… so she tagged along." Sephiroth told them before proceeding inside the room. Cloud followed after him with Vincent. "Who is this guy you're talking about? Do I know him?!" he demanded.

Sephiroth did not answer. He just went over to the phone and dialed some numbers while Cloud still kept on ranting, "Sephiroth, c'mon! Who is he?! Why won't you answer me?" he demanded in annoyance.

Sephiroth smiled when somebody answered from the other line, "Hello, mommy? Yeah, Sephy here. You got the special tickets? Great. You coming over? Cool. See you. Yes mommy. Yes mommy." He was saying.

Cloud was beginning to lose his patience.

"You're such a mommy's boy!" Tifa teased while snickering with Aerith and eyeing Sephiroth maliciously.

Sephiroth just made the "you're dead" gesture by running his index and middle fingers together across his neck as he still maintained a jolly tone towards Lucrecia on the other line, "Yes, mommy. Daddy's here. Okay. Bye." And hung up. His facial expression instantly switched from pleased to miffed. "You girls are really bugging me. Get outta here!" he snarled.

The two just giggled more and rushed out of the room.

Vincent got his guitar, sat down on the bed and started tuning it. "Lucrecia's coming over?" he asked with a pleased smile on his face.

"Yeah." Sephiroth replied as he got his own guitar and began tuning it too. Cloud just stared unbelievably at the two before crying out loud, "Are you even listening to me?!"

"Well… you're the one who wants to leave… so we just got you a replacement. You got your happy ending, Cloud," Sephiroth pointed out, acting too cold towards him as he continued to tune his guitar.

Cloud just clenched his fists and marched out of the room.

Vincent was quiet for a while before saying, "I think he's angry."

"I know." Sephiroth said mindlessly.

"You don't care?" Vincent asked.

"No." Sephiroth said with a sly smile on his face. Vincent just stared unbelievably at him as he strummed a chord. "You love seeing him suffer, huh?" he asked curiously.

Sephiroth just laughed. "I'd like to see if he'll still think about leaving once he discovers about the guy that's going to be replacing him." He said.

"Well… you said that… Reno can play the guitar too. And if Cloud goes, he'll replace him. So who's the new drummer, then?" Vincent asked.

"You'll know later on once Tifa sings her duet with Rufus." Sephiroth told him reassuringly.

Xo0XXxoOoo0oXooXo

Scarlet still couldn't get over the events from last night… so she just made it a point to sit away from Reeve even when they were in the same chopper with Rude. She told the bald Turk to just sit down in between them so that she could make sure that Reeve couldn't do anything stupid to her just like last night.

Lucrecia was seated facing them with her legs and arms crossed. She was staring curiously at them. "You know, Scarlet, you could just sit here beside me." She said.

Scarlet just ignored her.

Lucrecia looked out of the window, eyeing the orangey-skies because it was already sundown. "It's quite a long ride to Costa del Sol, especially since we're in this energy-saving helicopter… meaning it's slower than the usual ones that ShinRa has." She told her.

"Kyah… I don't wanna sit there. If I sit there, Reeve will just stare at me and he'll annoy me with the way he's looking at me… and I don't wanna start blushing again! Kyah…" Scarlet was thinking miserably to herself as she sulked further. Lucrecia just smiled and turned to Reeve, "So, you and Miss Scarlet were late for the meeting today. Why? What happened last night?" she asked.

Silence.

Rude just pretended not to know anything.

Reeve was eyeing Scarlet as he answered, "Oh, Scarlet and I just _had a little talk_ last night…"

"A little talk? What did you talk about?" Lucrecia asked.

"Stuff." Scarlet muttered.

"Stuff about what?" Lucrecia asked.

"Will you stop asking questions?" Scarlet demanded impatiently. She felt so flushed with fever and her face was already beginning to turn as red as her red dress.

"Are you okay, Scarlet? Do you need _a hug_?" Reeve asked mockingly.

Scarlet felt like shrinking.

"I think the two of you should just reconcile. There's no use arguing now that your two bands are united and going against your wishes." Lucrecia pointed out with a stern look on her face as she eyed the two with an annoyed look on her face.

"Well, I could always reconcile with Scarlet, if only she would just start acting like her age!!!" he told Lucrecia while eyeing Scarlet with a silly smile on his face. He sounded sarcastic, though.

"Kyah! How was I supposed to know that what you wrote is a letter of apology?! If I knew it all the while, I could've just given the stinkbomb letter to Heidegger!!!" Scarlet reacted with a hurtful look on her face.

"Either way, sending stinkbomb letters to people is child's play!" Reeve pointed out.

"Alright, alright, is that what happened?" Lucrecia asked in disbelief.

"No, actually, I stunk real bad last night and I couldn't get rid of the goo and the smell so I decided to take revenge on Scarlet and hug her so that the stink can rub off on her too." Reeve told her with a playful tone, although he had a fake smile on his face. Lucrecia just nodded. "I… see…" and just turned her gaze to Rude. "Come here, Rude. Just sit beside me. It's such a small space there." She told him.

Rude hesitated for a while. He had to admit that the space between Reeve and Scarlet was too small for his someone with his body size to just squeeze into. He was also beginning to feel too dizzy and nauseous because of Scarlet's perfume and Reeve's perfume. They had to spray too much on themselves to hide the stink (the darn smell just wouldn't fade away even if they've already taken a bath for more than 10 times already). Lucrecia could also smell the horrid odor but had managed to maintain an unresponsive behavior towards it. Weakly, Rude got up and sat down on the big space beside Lucrecia, facing Reeve.

Lucrecia was staring at Reeve and Scarlet with a pitiful look on her face. "You could try bathing in tomato juice or tomato sauce… I think the stinkbomb contains some ingredients from skunks…" she pointed out.

"How do you know that?" Scarlet asked miserably.

"Judging from the smell." Lucrecia replied simply.

And then they were quiet.

Lucrecia couldn't stand the silence so she just began to speak, "I wonder how my Vinny is…"

Her three companions just eyed her with funny looks on their faces, while the pilot just raised an eyebrow at her while looking at her from the rear-view mirror.

She began to swoon. "…I miss him… anyway, you want to know a secret?" she asked happily.

"I don't think I'd like to know… kyah…" Scarlet began, but Lucrecia just continued. "Oh never mind! I just miss Vincent, that's all! And I…" she went on and on and on.

"Kyah… l'amour…" Scarlet just muttered miserably.

Lucrecia just laughed at what she said. "L'amour?" she asked.

"_Lopsided l'amour_! That's what I have and what I'm experiencing!" Scarlet pointed out with an annoyed look on her face.

"It's better to have _lopsided l'amour_ instead of having none at all!" Lucrecia pointed out with a wink.

Scarlet just kept silent while Reeve contemplated on what else he could do for his life.

XoOxoOxoOxoOxX

_Gig time…_

Cloud sang smoothly:

_Goin__' away on a Sunday afternoon_

_Tryin__' to spend some time for being cool.___

_Havin__' to say I'm sorry;_

_Tryin__' to find you, baby,_

_But it's too late now because you've flown away to a promised land._

Aerith sat still and smiled softly as Tifa nudged her. "It's one of his early compositions for you!" she teased while Cloud was singing the first verse. Aerith just fought the urge to blush.

Finally, Elena and Yuffie arrived and sat with them while calling the waiter so that they could order some drinks. "Finally you girls are back!" Tifa told them.

"Heheh. Long trip from Gongaga back here! Heheh. The chopper conked out so we had to take the bus! Heehee!" Elena pointed out with a silly smile on her face.

"Gongaga?" Aerith asked in surprise.

_Why won't you open your eyes and talk to me?_

_Why won't you hold me back when I touch your cheek?_

_Why do you feel so cold and your fingers, so blue?_

_Why did you go away on a Sunday Afternoon?_

Cloud just continued to sing while playing his electric guitar and observing the girls conversing, although he didn't have a clue on what they were talking about. Sephiroth, while playing bass, was eyeing Elena and Yuffie curiously, thinking where they made the guy stay while the gig was going on.

_I miss you today, I wish that I could find_

_The way to the place to where you are right now.___

_Trying to stop from crying;_

_My tears are black and burning_

_Coz it's too late now because you've flown away to a promised land..._

Aerith took a quick glance at Cloud and flashed him a sweet smile, urging him to go on, and then turned back to Yuffie. "Who's the guy whom you were with?" she asked curiously.

"Oh you'll know later on. But I tell ya, Aerith! He's so _hot_! Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!" Yuffie giggled happily while keeping her voice down.

"Yeah… and Yuffie sat beside him on the bus going here and I think they're getting along pretty well!" Elena pointed out with a victorious smile on her face.

"Yeah?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah!" Elena and Yuffie both replied in happiness.

The girls giggled.

Scarlet and Reeve eyed the giggling girls from their own table in one corner away from the stage. "Geez… they look happy…" Scarlet muttered miserably.

"The crowd tonight looks happy too…" Reeve said, eyeing the other people from the audience inside the same hotel lobby café and lounge.

_Why won't you open your eyes and talk to me?_

_Why won't you hold me back when I touch your cheek?_

_Why do you feel so cold and your fingers, so blue?_

_Why did you go away on a Sunday Afternoon?_

_And you never told me goodbye..._

_I never even got to kiss you for the very last time._

_I still have so much more to say..._

_Like, "I love you"..._

_Why won't you open your eyes and talk to me?_

_Why won't you hold me back when I touch your cheek?_

_Why do you feel so cold and your fingers, so blue?_

_Why did you go away on a Sunday Afternoon?_

_Why won't you open your eyes and talk to me?_

_Why won't you hold me back when I touch your cheek?_

_Why do you feel so cold and your fingers, so blue?_

_Why did you go away on a Sunday Afternoon?_

_Why won't you kiss me back and embrace me?_

_How come your eyes give off that empty blank stare?_

_Why do your lips feel so cold against mine right now?_

_Why did you go away on a Sunday Afternoon?_

_Oh…_

_Why did you go away?_

_Why did you go away…_

The song finally ended and everyone applauded. Rufus eyed the crowd, keeping his eye on Tifa. It had been an hour and a half ever since his band started to perform, and he was beginning to get tired. His duet with Tifa will be the last of the songs that they would perform for the evening. He wondered when that time would come… and then Sephiroth just spoke up on the microphone, "Ladies and Gentlemen, to close this gig for tonight, we would like to announce something…" he turned to Cloud.

Cloud just grunted and turned away, pretending to be busy with some chords. Sephiroth proceeded. "We have a new member to introduce to you tonight…"

The crowd cheered and hooted happily. They were going like, "Who?"

Sephiroth just smiled slyly at the audience. "And he's going to be our new drummer, since Reno's taking over one of the guitars." He pointed out.

Rufus just eyed Sephiroth carefully as if communicating with him telepathically, "Don't spoil it." Sephiroth just raised his eyebrows at him before proceeding. "And I would like to call upon the new guy we're talking about…" he turned to Yuffie. Yuffie blinked and motioned for him to refer to the backstage. Sephiroth looked away. "Zack."

Aerith's eyes widened in surprise, so did Cloud. Tifa was also stunned.

Instantly, Zack arrived from backstage, wearing the same attire that Cloud was wearing… to the crowd's total mortification… especially Cloud's.

Cloud wanted to faint, but he still pulled himself together. "You'll replace me with _him_?! How could you?!" he demanded in annoyance from Rufus and Sephiroth.

Zack was surprised at Cloud. "Wha?"

Reno got up and went over to Cloud. "Stand aside, man. I'll be the lead guitarist now," he said with a silly smile on his face.

Cloud held on to his electric guitar. "No!" he said in disbelief and turned back to the microphone before Sephiroth and Rufus could further embarrass him by forcing him off the stage, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you Miss Tifa Lockheart of Prettier Than Pink, President Rufus's fiancée, to sing a duet with him as our last song for tonight. Let's give 'em a round of applause!" he said quickly as Tifa got from her seat with a puzzled look on her face before she stepped onstage. "What's going on in here?" she whispered to Rufus.

Tifa was holding her own guitar, but Sephiroth approached her, "Damn. Just hand your guitar to Reno and he'll do the strumming and plucking for you. You just stand by the keyboard with Rufus and sing with him. I'll explain later." He instructed with a serious look on his face.

From the corner of their eye, they could already notice the PRESS flocking by the stage as if trying to eavesdrop from their private conversations.

"But why?" Tifa asked curiously as she handed the guitar to Reno and got her own mic from the stand.

"That's it, Sephiroth. If you think Zack's better than me in this game, then you're wrong. I'm staying," Cloud pointed out in a hoarse whisper before strumming the first chord.

Zack sat down behind the drum set and twirled the drumsticks with his fingers.

"Ready now," Rufus announced with a suave tone.

Tifa smiled at him before turning to the audience. "This song is called _Love Song_… Rufus and I composed it just last night. I hope you all enjoy it." She said amidst the applause and the cheering from the audience.

While performing, Cloud kept on eyeing Zack from the corner of his eye, and he could also notice Sephiroth sneering at him.

And when the song ended, the audience applauded and cheered more and more.

Scarlet and Reeve were just quiet, eyeing Cloud and his bandmates still on-stage…

"I thought they're going to announce that they're quitting?" Scarlet whispered to him.

Reeve just shrugged.

They were silent for several moments.

"And they made me say sorry to you…" Reeve muttered.

Scarlet just sniffed. She couldn't believe that she's been tricked by the girls and the boys into believing that love could be possible between her and Reeve. She mentally slapped herself. "KYAH!!!!!" she shrieked in annoyance, surprising everyone before walking out of the room.

"What's wrong with her?" Elena asked in awe.

Yuffie just shrugged and ran towards the stage to go to Zack.

XooXox00x0xX XooXox00x0xX XooXox00x0xX

_Author's Note:_ the food that Rufus ate? The Chicken intestines? It's some cheap street food you can find in the slums in the Philippines (but now I think they already serve it even in some posh restaurants because it's also scrumptious to eat it while drinking beer or as an appetizer). It's actually good when I first tasted it and I think I'm craving for more… heheh. (I just dismissed the idea that those are actually chicken intestines…uuurgh…).

Oh yeah… Cloud's song is entitled _Sunday Afternoon_. I just composed it last summer during one boring day in my on-the-job training.


End file.
